Benchmark index slips 17.96 points to settle at 34,034.65. PHOTO: AFP
According to statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan’s current account turned into a surplus of $13 million in May 2020.
In the morning, trading began on a bullish note at the stock exchange, however, the momentum could not last long as investors started offloading stocks, dragging the market down. The market continued to oscillate between red and green territories throughout the session.
The news of the central bank receiving $1 billion in aid - $500 million from the World Bank and $500 million from the Asian Development Bank – provided support in mid-session. However, the overall weak investor sentiment pushed the market into the negative territory and it closed the day with a slight decline.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 17.96 points, or 0.05%, to settle at 34,034.65 points.
Arif Habib Limited, in its report, stated that the market traded in a narrow range of +108 points and -115 points, closing the session down by 18 points. Activity remained dull primarily due to the absence of a strong trigger ahead, it said.
The report added that during the session, news of current account surplus added a bit of excitement but selling pressure kept stock prices in check.
International crude oil prices fell during trading hours, which brought exploration and production stocks below previous day’s closing prices.
The technology sector topped trading volumes with 34.9 million shares changing hands, followed by food companies (16.7 million) and refineries (14.4 million).
Stocks that contributed positively to the index included Dawood Hercules (+62 points), Nestle (+40 points), Engro (+27 points), Attock Petroleum (+10 points) and Engro Fertilisers (+10 points).
Stocks that contributed negatively were Pakistan Petroleum Limited (-20 points), Hubco (-18 points), HBL (-16 points), OGDC (-13 points) and Pakistan Tobacco (-9 points).
JS Global analyst Danish Ladhani said the benchmark KSE-100 index closed on a flat note after hitting high and low of +108 points and -115 points respectively. It closed at 34,034, down 18 points.
Pakistan Petroleum (-1.5%), Oil and Gas Development Company (-0.8%) and Pakistan Oilfields (-0.8%) in the exploration and production sector closed in the negative zone as crude oil prices fell in the international market. Globally, there were worries about the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic that outweighed support from the gradual reopening of global economies, he added.
Fauji Fertiliser Company (-0.1%), OGDC (-0.8%), HBL (-1%), Hubco (-1.1%), Pakistan Petroleum (-1.5%), Lucky Cement (-0.6%), UBL (-0.6%) and Pakistan Oilfields (-0.8%) were the index movers.
Traded value stood slightly higher at $35 million, up 3% and volumes came in at 196 million shares, up 22%.
“Going forward, we expect the market to remain range bound and recommend investors to sell on strength,” the analyst said.
Overall, trading volumes increased to 195.7 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 160.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.8 billion.
Shares of 360 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 104 stocks closed higher, 227 declined and 29 remained unchanged.
TRG Pakistan was the volume leader with 16.4 million shares, losing Rs0.32 to close at Rs27.51. It was followed by Unity Foods with 12.6 million shares, losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs11.61 and Pakistan Refinery (R) with 11.8 million shares, losing Rs0.14 to close at Re1.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs319.1 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ