Market watch: KSE-100 slips into red amid political noise

Benchmark index decreases 64.08 points to settle at 33,797.51

KARACHI: It was a grim session for the Pakistan Stock Exchange that retreated on Tuesday amid growing political noise and unfolding developments on the economic front.

The KSE-100 index opened on a positive note and traded in a narrow range during the day. However, uncertainty over the ongoing Azadi march by opposition parties against the government dented sentiment and prompted investors to offload stocks.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has kicked off protest against the government, which has also been endorsed by other parties in the opposition. The political party began its march from Karachi on October 27, leading its rally to the federal capital for staging a sit-in.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 64.08 points, or 0.19%, to settle at 33,797.51.

JS Global analyst Danish Ladhani said following a range-bound session, the KSE-100 index shed 64 points and closed at 33,797. "The market is expected to remain under pressure in the short run due to ongoing developments pertaining to the Azadi march," he added.

Cement stocks had mixed trading with Lucky Cement (-1.2%) was the major laggard in the sector. Moreover, Kohat Cement (+3.2%) reported 1QFY20 earnings per share (EPS) of Rs0.44 (down 83% year-on-year) with no cash dividend.

Major laggards in the financial sector were HBL (-0.1%), MCB Bank (-0.6%) and UBL (-0.5%). On the other hand, NBP (+0.4%) closed in the positive territory as the bank reported 3QCY19 EPS of Rs2.47 (up 51% year-on-year).

In the fertiliser sector, Engro (-0.6%) and Fauji Fertiliser Company (-0.6%) lost ground.

Furthermore, Nishat Chunian (-3.4%) reported 1QFY20 loss per share (LPS) of Rs0.72 compared to EPS of Rs3.55 in the same period of previous year and Nishat Mills (-1.3%) announced 1QFY20 consolidated EPS of Rs4.67 (up 7% year-on-year).

Indus Motor (-1.3%) from the auto sector reported 1QFY20 EPS of Rs16.78 vs Rs44.63 in the corresponding period of last year with cash payout of Rs7 per share.

In the exploration and production sector, Oil and Gas Development Company (-0.7%) and Pakistan Petroleum (-0.1%) remained in the red as international oil prices continued to slide.

Aisha Steel (+1.1%) reported 1QFY20 LPS of Rs0.29 vs EPS of Rs0.14 last year while Nishat Chunian Power (-0.1%) announced 1QFY20 EPS of Rs2.91 (up 19% year-on-year).

Major contribution to the total market volume came from WorldCall Telecom, The Bank of Punjab, Pakistan International Bulk Terminal and Fauji Cement. "Moving ahead, we expect the market to remain choppy due to developments on the political front," the analyst said.

Overall, trading volumes increased to 225.1 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 135.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.4 billion.

Shares of 345 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 131 stocks closed higher, 199 declined and 15 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 37.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.11 to close at Rs1.22. It was followed by The Bank of Punjab with 22.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.50 to close at Rs10.14 and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal with 10.6 million shares, losing Rs0.33 to close at Rs10.06.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs9.6 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.