Market watch: KSE-100 gains 123 points amid volatile trading

Benchmark index increases 0.3% to settle at 40,894.22

KARACHI: Mixed sentiments prevailed throughout the trading session at the stock market on Tuesday, but it ended the day positive with a rise of 123 points.

The market started off with a gain of more than 100 points and then lost 251 points by noon. It oscillated between green and red zones throughout the day. Buying interest remained restricted as market participants awaited the Prime Minister’s 100-day progress speech.

Buying was noted in bank stocks on the back of upcoming monetary policy, due to be announced on November 30, where the policy rate was expected to be increased by 100 basis points.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 122.67 points or 0.3% to settle at 40,894.22.

Elixir Securities’ analyst Murtaza Jafar said the stock market had a volatile session amid dull trading and it eventually closed up 123 points at 40,894.

He said after a positive start, the market nudged its way back and juggled between negative and positive zones for most part of the day.



“The trading activity stood low with only 71 million shares changing hands in the benchmark KSE-100 index as investors remained sidelined in the absence of positive triggers,” Jafar said.

Despite a shallow participation, financial stocks outshined later in the day with United Bank Limited (UBL, +3.85%) finishing third on the volumes chart with trading in seven million shares. The stock contributed 56 points to the day’s gains in the KSE-100 index.

Major participation was seen in retail plays including Lotte Chemical Pakistan (+4.75%) and Pak Elektron Limited (-0.84%). The two stocks together contributed 33 million shares or 25% of the total traded volume in the regular market.

“We expect the consolidating activity to prevail in upcoming sessions with the benchmark index remaining in a range of 40,500 and 41,500 support and resistance points respectively,” the analyst added.

According to JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla, stock trading remained volatile throughout the day and the index hit an intra-day high of +154 points and intra-day low of -251 points.

He said buying was witnessed as investors took the opportunity to accumulate stocks at attractive valuations. Volumes remained subdued with 132 million shares changing hands during the day.

Banking stocks closed higher on the back of expectations of increase in interest rate in the upcoming monetary policy.

Faysal Bank (+3.05%), UBL (+3.85%), Habib Bank (+2.78%) and National Bank (+0.79%) closed in the black.

Profit-booking was witnessed in the cement sector where big players lost values. DG Khan Cement (-1.61%), Pioneer Cement (-2.89%), Cherat Cement (-4.54%) and Lucky Cement (-0.31%) lost ground.



The exploration and production sector recovered a little bit as crude oil prices improved in the international market. Pakistan Oilfields (+1.70%), Oil and Gas Development Company (+0.70%) and Pakistan Petroleum (+0.89%) were major movers of the sector.

“With an interest rate hike expected this Friday, we recommend investors to go for consolidation and view any downside as an opportunity to buy cement and bank stocks,” Mulla said.

Overall, trading volumes decreased to 132.3 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 135.3 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.5 billion.

Shares of 376 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 148 stocks closed higher, 198 declined and 30 remained unchanged.

Lotte Chemical was the volume leader with 21.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.89 to close at Rs19.64. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 11.7 million shares, losing Rs0.26 to close at Rs30.61 and UBL with seven million shares, gaining Rs5.39 to close at Rs145.3.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs248.6 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.