Market watch: KSE-100 falls 316 points amid cautious trading

Benchmark index decreases 0.76% to settle at 41,004.55

KARACHI: Bears dominated the stock market on Monday as the KSE-100 index fell over 300 points due to selling in index-heavy cement and steel stocks.

Earlier, trading kicked off on a positive note, but gains could not be sustained and after the first hour the index went on a downward trajectory. At one point during the day, the KSE-100 fell more than 400 points.

Investors remained cautious as uncertainty surrounded Saudi Arabia's participation in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. On the international front, a new round of US tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods came into effect, dampening the mood further.

Lack of clarity on overall economic policies of the government prevented the market from gaining any momentum, pushing investors to the sidelines.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 315.58 points or 0.76% to settle at 41,004.55.



Elixir Securities' analyst Muhammad Arbash said equities shed 316 points amidst a dull trading session.

"While the day kicked off on a positive note setting an intra-day high of 41,533, later the market caved in to selling pressure in index heavyweights," he said.

Cement stocks were major laggards of the day with Lucky Cement (-3.75%) and DG Khan Cement (-5%) falling heavily.

Steel stocks also took the brunt of selling with International Steels down 4.15% and Mughal Iron and Steels 2.89%.

On the result front, Sazgar Engineering Works (-5%) announced its FY18 result, posting earnings per share of Rs8.62.



"With the rollover of futures counter in progress, a lacklustre activity could prevail for the rest of the week," Arbash said.

Overall, trading volumes decreased to 98.6 million shares compared with Wednesday's tally of 158.7 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.9 billion.

Shares of 375 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 83 stocks closed higher, 266 declined and 26 remained unchanged.

Lotte Chemical was the volume leader with 9.4 million shares, losing Rs0.82 to close at Rs13.69. It was followed by K-Electric with 6.1 million shares, losing Rs0.07 to close at Rs5.31 and Unity Foods with 5.4 million shares, losing Rs1.87 to close at Rs35.63.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs107.5 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.