Market watch: Amid volatility, KSE-100 slips 28 points

Benchmark index edges down 0.07% to settle at 42,731.86

Benchmark index edges down 0.07% to settle at 42,731.86. PHOTO: EXPRESS

KARACHI:
The KSE-100 index displayed massive volatility in a see-saw session on Wednesday as the bourse oscillated between positive and negative zones. The index ended marginally lower, remaining in the red for the second consecutive day.

The day opened on a positive note, but uncertainty soon prevailed and the index kept moving between green and red zones for the entire day. It crossed 42,800 points multiple times, but failed to sustain the gains.

Despite the volatility, exploration and production stocks performed well and all of them closed in the green. On the other hand, cement stocks faced selling pressure and many major names fell.

At close, the KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 28.27 points or 0.07% to settle at 42,731.86.

KSE-100 ends marginally negative

Elixir Securities' analyst Murtaza Jafar said equities closed marginally down after a volatile trading session.

"The benchmark index remained positive in the initial hour of trading, hitting an intra-day high of 42,857 points, but it failed to keep the gains and traded sideways in a relatively thin range for the rest of the day," added Jafar.


"Healthy participation was witnessed in Oil and Gas Development Company (+0.35%) with 10.6 million shares changing hands after locals turned aggressive buyers."

On the results front, Engro Power Qadirpur Limited (-0.61%) announced its half-year result for 2018 which was in line with street expectations.

"The benchmark KSE-100 index has shown signs of dwindling ahead of key resistance at 42,800-43,000 which warns of an interim correction. At this point, the key support is around 42,600/500, however, a break below this will be a sign of further bearish correction to 42,100 and 41,750," the analyst said.

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Overall, trading volumes decreased to 191.5 million shares compared with Tuesday's tally of 239.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.09 billion.

Shares of 366 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 150 stocks closed higher, 197 declined while 19 remained unchanged.

Pakistan International Bulk Terminal was the volume leader with 11.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.53 to close at Rs14.04. It was followed by Oil and Gas Development Company with 10.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.54 to close at Rs152.91 and Lotte Chemical with 9.1 million shares, losing Rs0.16 to close at Rs14.06.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs1.99 billion worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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