Benchmark index falls 0.31% to settle at 31,839.11. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Political instability took its toll on the market as investor sentiment weakened due to the opposition's move to replace Senate chairman with a no-confidence motion.
On the other hand, the upward revision in prices of petroleum products for August 2019 triggered mid-session support.
Earlier, trading kicked off on a positive note but uncertainty sparked volatility and the KSE-100 index soon fell into the negative zone. The market managed to recover after midday but persistent volatility erased all gains later.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 99.37 points, or 0.31%, to settle at 31,839.11.
JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said equities closed on a negative note with the benchmark index shedding 99 points and closing at 31,839.
"The bourse touched a high of +122 points but in latter hours it entered the negative territory, hitting a low of -158 points," he said. "Mixed sentiment was seen in the financial sector where big banks such as HBL (-0.2%) and MCB Bank (-1.1%) remained in the negative zone but UBL (+0.3%) moved up."
Mixed sentiment was also witnessed in the exploration and production sector where Oil and Gas Development Company (+0.1%) and Pakistan Oilfields (+0.8%) gained ground.
Pakistan Petroleum (-1.6%) remained in the red zone as crude oil prices fell in the international market despite a drop in US crude inventories.
Lucky Cement (-0.4%) was a major laggard in the cement sector where DG Khan Cement (-1%) and Maple Leaf Cement (-3.1%) also went down.
Average daily traded value came in at $13 million, down 24% and volumes stood at 71 million, up just 1%.
Major contribution to the total market volume came from Maple Leaf Cement (-3.1%), TRG Pakistan (-1%), Fauji Cement (+5.3%) and Unity Foods (-2.5%).
"Moving ahead, we expect the market to exhibit volatility in coming sessions due to overall ambiguity in the political environment," the analyst added.
A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the market traded in a narrow range, oscillating between -158 points and +122 points. It ended the session with a loss of 99 points.
"Oil and gas marketing companies, cement and chemical stocks traded in the red for most part of the session whereas steel stocks continued to move upwards, carrying the trend from Wednesday," it said. "Large-cap banks and cement companies contributed mostly to the downside."
The cement sector led the volumes table with trading in 21.6 million shares, followed by technology companies (7 million) and engineering firms (5.5 million).
Among individual stocks, Maple Leaf Cement topped the chart with trading in 10.6 million shares followed by TRG Pakistan (5.3 million) and Fauji Cement (4.8 million).
Overall, trading volumes increased to 70.7 million shares compared with Wednesday's tally of 70.2 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2 billion.
Shares of 344 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 126 stocks closed higher, 195 declined and 23 remained unchanged.
Maple Leaf Cement was the volume leader with 10.6 million shares, losing Rs0.54 to close at Rs17. It was followed by TRG Pakistan with 5.4 million shares, losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs12.32 and Fauji Cement with 4.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.68 to close at Rs13.45.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs30.3 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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