Market watch: KSE-100 fails to sustain gains after gas tariff hike decision

Benchmark index decreases 132.93 points to settle at 41,620.96

KARACHI: The KSE-100 index failed on Wednesday to sustain the gains made the previous day and lost ground in the wake of a decision on 46% increase in gas tariff as well as weakness in regional markets.

The day kicked off on a positive note with the index crossing 41,800 points in the first hour, but it could not keep the momentum as selling pressure emerged soon that pushed the index down by 300 points by midday. Later, it made some recovery, but still closed the day in the red.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 132.93 points or 0.32% to settle at 41,620.96.



Elixir Securities’ analyst Muhammad Arbash said equities backfired and paired almost all of previous day’s gains. “A dip in regional indices and decision on increase in domestic gas prices were much to blame for the decline,” he said.

The prime minister approved a summary for gas price hike which dented investor interest in stocks of energy-intensive companies including chemical, textile and cement.

On the flip side, public gas utilities Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (+1.53%) and Sui Southern Gas Company (+1.52%) stood positive.

Trading activity remained low with only 70 million shares changing hands in the benchmark KSE-100 index as investors stayed on sidelines in the absence of any positive triggers.

On the results front, Kot Addu Power Company (+3.95%) announced its annual performance for FY18, declaring earnings per share of Rs12.06 along with final cash dividend of Rs4.8 per share, the analyst said.

“While the payout was close to our expectations, the bottom line surprised us due to one-off other income,” he said.

“We expect a range-bound market in the near term with all eyes now focused on how Pakistan starts negotiations with the IMF. The official press statement after the current visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also set the tone in the market.”



Overall, trading volumes edged up to 126.93 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 126.57 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.5 billion.

Shares of 365 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 110 stocks closed higher, 229 declined while 26 remained unchanged.

Lotte Chemical was the volume leader with 8.27 million shares, losing Rs0.49 to close at Rs13.4. It was followed by Pakistan International Bulk Terminal with 8.23 million shares, gaining Rs0.27 to close at Rs12.48 and Nimir Resins with 8.13 million shares, losing Rs0.9 to close at Rs10.16.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs465.16 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.