Benchmark index decreases 121.15 points to settle at 42,626.47. PHOTO: AFP
The KSE-100 index started off on a positive note, gaining over 200 points, however, the trend could not be sustained. Political uncertainty in the wake of ongoing meeting in Beijing of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) working group weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
Market participants remained cautious ahead of likely meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland.
Selling pressure in global equity markets also caused a steadily decline in the KSE-100 index throughout the day.
"Investors' interest remained subdued as they awaited the central bank's monetary policy meeting scheduled for January 28," said an Aba Ali Habib Securities' report.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a decrease of 121.15 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 42,626.47.
JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the "plague firmly set upon the market fortunes showed no signs of relenting on Tuesday". The KSE-100 index started off on a positive note but later took a sharp U-turn, touching an intra-day low of 409 points, he said.
In the refinery sector, Byco (+6.1%) closed in the green zone as it became the first-ever petroleum company that exported high sulphur furnace oil (HSFO).
Moreover, Attock Refinery (-3.2%) from the same sector declared its 1HFY20 results, where the company posted loss per share of Rs8.27.
Pakistan Oilfields (+0.6%) from the exploration and production sector declared its 1HFY20 results, where the company announced earnings per share of Rs30.19 and cash payout of Rs20 per share.
"Moving forward, we expect profit-taking to continue, therefore, we recommend investors to book profit on strength," he added.
Overall, trading volumes increased to 177.6 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 173.9 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.8 billion.
Shares of 344 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 127 stocks closed higher, 205 declined and 12 remained unchanged.
TRG Pakistan was the volume leader with 17.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.25 to close at Rs27.67. It was followed by Byco Petroleum with 11.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.52 to close at Rs9.09 and Fauji Fertiliser with 9.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.73 to close at Rs21.84.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs138.8 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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