Market watch: KSE-100 recovers from over 700-point plunge to end positive

At close, index finishes with gain of 164.33 points to end at 39,452.81

KARACHI: The KSE-100 Index staged a remarkable recovery on Tuesday, ending positive after plunging over 700 points in intra-day trading with attractive valuations finally getting the better of investors even as foreigners remained heavy sellers during the trading session.

Much like previous sessions, trading began on a negative note with the KSE-100 dropping 727 points to touch an intra-day low of 38,561. However, cherry picking across sectors helped the index break the bearish hold on the market, taking the KSE-100 beyond 39,500.

At close on Monday, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index finished with an increase of 164.33 points or 0.42% to finish trading at 39,452.81.



JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said in continuation to Monday's declining trend, the index further slipped during trading to make an intra-day low of 727 points.

However, the market later recovered to close at 39,453, he added.

“Recovery in the market came as optimistic investors came in to accumulate positions at attractive levels. Traded volumes slightly improved by 36% to 168 million shares, while value traded increased to $66 million.

“Top volume stocks were FCCL (-0.61%), EPCL (-1.16%) and DGKC (-2.16%). Major contributors to the index were HBL (+2.91%), PPL (+2.83%), OGDC (+1.81%), POL (+1.28%) and UBL (+1.13%) as they cumulatively contributed +196 points to the index.”

The analyst said recovery was witnessed in the cement sector on the back of news that prices were increased by Rs15 per bag in the northern region.

“LUCK (+1.22%), PIOC (+0.14%) and CHCCC (+1.10%) were major gainers of the mentioned sector. Interest was seen in the banking sector where HBL (+2.91%), UBL (+1.13%) and FABL (+4.98%) closed in the green zone.

“E&P sector inched up on the back of increase in international crude oil prices trading above $74.16. PPL (+2.83%), OGDC (+1.81%) and POL (+1.28%) were the major movers of the sector. Going forward, we expect the market to exhibit volatility in coming sessions due to overall ambiguities in the political environment,” he added.



Overall, trading volumes increased to 167.8 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 123.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.04 billion.

Shares of 341 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 152 stocks closed higher, 178 declined while 11 remained unchanged.

Fauji Cement was the volume leader with 15.3 million shares, losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs21.19. It was followed by Engro Polymer and Chemicals with 13.2 million shares, losing Rs0.33 to close at Rs28.03 and DG Khan Cement with 10.1 million shares, losing Rs2.23 to close at Rs100.96.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs1.2 billion worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.