Market watch: Stock market falls in dull session amid lack of triggers

Benchmark KSE-100 index down 24 points.

KARACHI:

The stock market fell on the first trading session of the week amid lack of participation and any positive triggers.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.2 per cent or 24.4 points to end at 12,353.36 points on Monday.

Global sell-off in equity markets and decline in commodity prices also kept the local bourse under pressure, said Topline Securities equity dealer Samar Iqbal.

Positive news on the economic front also failed to attract investors. The State Bank of Pakistan announced late Friday that remittances crossed the $10 billion mark for the first time in the country’s history as the figure reached $10.1 billion in 11 months (July-May) of the current financial year.

Pak Suzuki closed at its upper limit after the Punjab government announced that it would purchase 20,000 vehicles from the manufacturer for its taxi scheme. The largest automobile maker’s stock jumped Rs3.3 to close at Rs69.45.

Trade volumes plummeted 38 per cent to a paltry level of 63 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 103 million shares.

Engro continued its slide as gas supply to its new fertiliser plant faced disruption, sparking fears among investors.

Nishat Mills continued to struggle since the stock was out of the KMI-30 index, a proxy for Shariah-compliant stocks.

Shares of 328 companies were traded on Monday. At the end of the day, 81 stocks closed higher, 162 declined and 85 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs1.9 billion.

Second-tier stocks dominated volumes with Fauji Cement (right) leading the volumes chart with 7.6 million shares, staying unchanged at Rs0.04. It was followed by NIB Bank with 4.64 million shares, gaining Rs0.08 to close at Rs1.8 and WorldCall Telecom with 4.26 million shares, firming Rs0.02 to close at Rs2.2.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2011.