Benchmark index decreases 129.60 points to settle at 40,920.31. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI: The stock market endured a volatile session on Friday and once again dropped below the 41,000-point mark amid heavy foreign selling.
The KSE-100 index opened on a positive note on the back of talk about balance of payments support from Saudi Arabia. However, the gains could not last long and the index lost ground in the second half. Investors resorted to profit-taking following a rally in the preceding session.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 129.60 points or 0.32% to settle at 40,920.31.
JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the market remained volatile, hitting an intra-day high of 181 points and intra-day low of 260 points to close below 41,000.
Market watch: With rise of 528 points, KSE-100 powers past 41,000
Major contribution to the index came from Lucky Cement (+1.31%), Bank AL Habib (+1.16%) and Pakistan Oilfields (+0.78%) as they cumulatively contributed 44 points.
On the flipside, major losers were Engro (-0.67%), Habib Bank (-1.89%), Bank Alfalah (-1.80%) and Pakistan Petroleum (-0.96%) as they cumulatively knocked 88 points off the index.
"Commercial bank heavyweights including National Bank (-1.41%), Habib Bank (-1.89%), Allied Bank (-1.76%) and United Bank (-1.02%) lost value in line with declining prices in the market," he said.
After Thursday's hammering, the cement sector drew investor interest where big players such as Pioneer Cement (+5%), Cherat Cement (+2.57%), Lucky Cement (+1.31%) and DG Khan Cement (+0.86%) were major movers of the sector.
The chemical sector performed well despite the declining market with Lotte Chemical (+7.44%), Sitara Peroxide (+5%), Ittehad Chemicals (+5%) and Descon Oxychem (+5%) closed at their respective upper circuits.
Market watch: KSE-100 loses ground as investors look for positive triggers
"A positive economic outlook on next week's economic decisions could be the key trigger. However, we recommend investors to hold on their positions and reduce short-term holdings on strength until clarity emerges on the political front," Mulla added.
Overall, trading volumes increased to 156.8 million shares compared with Thursday's tally of 149 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.1 billion.
Shares of 367 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 179 stocks closed higher, 169 declined and 19 remained unchanged.
Lotte Chemical was the volume leader with 16.8 million shares, gaining Rs1 to close at Rs14.44. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 12.8 million shares, losing Rs1.88 to close at Rs49.18 and Unity Foods with 12.6 million shares, losing Rs1.85 to close at Rs36.31.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs1.02 billion worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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