Benchmark index dips 369.04 points to settle at 31,734.23. PHOTO: AFP
The benchmark index opened downwards and despite a brief advance the momentum could not be sustained. Investors remained on the sidelines as confidence stood weak, which resulted in a continued slide in the index.
The downslide came on the back of developments on the political front with opposition parties stepping up efforts to replace the Senate chairman.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 369.04 points, or 1.15%, to settle at 31,734.23.
According to an AHL Research report, the market continued to trim down where the index shed 386 points during the session and ended 369 points lower.
"Key results were announced which came from the Attock Group that declared results of Attock Refinery, National Refinery, Attock Cement and Pakistan Oilfields (POL). With the exception of POL, all other companies failed to impress the investors," the report said.
POL's stock price appreciated with improved volumes. Overall volumes remained poor, contributed by cement companies (7.5 million shares), power companies (7.3 million) and banks (4.8 million), the report added.
Sectors contributing to the market's performance included banks (down 80 points), fertiliser firms (49 points), power companies (48 points), cement producers (42 points) and oil and gas marketing companies (39 points).
JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the negativity firmly set on the market fortunes and showed no signs of relenting. "The KSE-100 index started off on a positive note, touching a high of 19 points, but later took a sharp U-turn, hitting an intra-day low of 386 points."
Major laggards of the day were Hubco (-2.6%), UBL (-1.7%), Engro (-1.5%), Bank Alfalah (-3%) and Pakistan Petroleum (-1.2%), which contributed 1.4 million shares to the total volume.
Selling pressure was witnessed in the cement sector, where Maple Leaf Cement (-5.3%), Pioneer Cement (-5.2%), Kohat Cement (-3.8%) and DG Khan Cement (-4.8%) were the major losers.
However, Lucky Cement (-1.4%) declared its FY19 result, posting earnings per share (EPS) of Rs32.44 and cash payout of Rs6.50 per share.
National Refinery (-5%) also declared its result for FY19. The company registered loss per share of Rs108.70 during the period.
From the exploration and production (E&P) sector, Pakistan Oilfields (+0.3%) declared its FY19 result, posting EPS of Rs59.44 and cash payout of Rs30 per share.
"Moving ahead, we recommend investors to stay cautious and adopt sell-on-strength strategy," he added.
Overall, trading volumes decreased to 45.8 million shares compared with Friday's tally of 86.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs1.5 billion.
Shares of 326 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 72 stocks closed higher, 240 declined and 14 remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with 6.3 million shares, losing Rs0.15 to close at Rs3.32. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 3.7 million shares, losing Rs0.95 to close at Rs17.02 and TRG Pakistan with 3.5 million shares, losing Rs0.28 to close at Rs11.85.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs107.2 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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