Market watch: KSE-100 ends year with 153-point loss

Benchmark index decreases 0.37% to settle at 40,735.08

KARACHI: The last trading session of 2019 saw the stock market turn bearish as the benchmark KSE-100 index shed 153 points in a range-bound session.

The session began with a short-lived spike after which the index fell into the negative territory and stayed there for most of the day.

Briefly after midday, the KSE-100 entered the positive zone but sombre mood, coupled with the absence of positive triggers, wiped out the gains. A selling spree towards the end of the session added to the losses.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 152.55 points, or 0.37%, to settle at 40,735.08.

JS Global analyst Danish Ladhani said equities closed on a negative note with the benchmark KSE-100 index shedding 153 points and closing at 40,735.

"The market remained range bound due to the rollover week and the year-end factor," he said.

Engro (-1.8%), Dawood Hercules (-1.7%), UBL (-2%), Pakistan Petroleum (-0.8%), Lucky Cement (-0.6%), Pakistan Oilfields (-0.7%), HBL (-1.2%) and Bank Alfalah (-1.2%) mainly contributed to the negative close.

Traded value stood slightly higher at $46 million, up 7% and volumes came in at 177 million shares, also up 7%.

Major contribution to the total market volume came from Unity Foods (+1.3%), K-Electric (+0.5%), Fauji Foods (+2%), Silkbank (-8.7%) and Hascol (+5%).

"We expect the market to trade sideways in the short term," the analyst said.

Overall, trading volumes increased to 177.1 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 165.8 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.1 billion.

Shares of 339 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 156 stocks closed higher, 165 declined and 18 remained unchanged.

Unity Foods was the volume leader with 21.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.21 to close at Rs16.11. It was followed by K-Electric with 13.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.02 to close at Rs4.37 and Fauji Foods with 10.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.28 to close at Rs14.47.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs389.1 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.