Market watch: KSE-100 extends losses, sheds 203 points
Shares of 403 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 145 stocks closed higher. PHOTO: FILE
Bears continued to dominate trading at Pakistan bourse for the second successive day on Tuesday and pushed the KSE-100 index down by 203 points as concerns over the upcoming Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting weighed.
Cumulatively, the two-day decline from the bear-run has accumulated to around 800 points.
Encouraging remittances data for September, which showed inflows of over $2 billion for the fourth consecutive month, failed to entice investors to turn direction of the bourse and they resorted to divesting their holdings. Weak investor sentiment pushed all index-heavy sectors into the red zone.
Earlier, trading began with minor ups and downs but still the index managed to post gains during initial hours. After a while, selling pressure surfaced, which dragged the index down by over 550 points.
A buying spree, emerging later in the trading session, helped erase more than half the losses. Despite the selling pressure, the index managed to sustain the 40,000-point mark.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 203.14 points, or 0.51%, to settle at 40,006.68 points.
Arif Habib Limited, in its report, stated that the market continued to remain on the downtrend on account of FATF concerns, which were compounded by an uptick in inflation numbers.
Overall, the index lost 564 points during the day but partly recovered by the end of session. It closed down by 203 points.
Selling was observed almost across the board, with the exception of PSO, HBL, Unity Foods and K-Electric stocks, which traded positive for a better part of the session.
Buying activity in Lucky Cement before the end of trading also contributed to the recovery in the index, the report said.
JS Global analyst Danish Ladhani said the benchmark KSE-100 index lost a further 203 points after touching a high of just +91 points. It closed at 40,006. The market traded sideways with low volumes as political anxiety weighed on investors’ mind, he said.
Fauji Fertiliser Company (-0.6%) issued material information, saying its board of directors had recommended subscription of shares of Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim (-0.9%) in the rights issue not exceeding Rs2.4 billion for approval of the company’s members.
Furthermore, Samba Bank (+12%) in the financial sector touched its upper limit as the Samba Financial Group (SFG) entered into a framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s National Commercial Bank for beginning a reciprocal due diligence process and negotiating definitive and binding terms of merger.
Major stocks Hubco (-1.9%), MCB (-1.4%), Pakistan Petroleum (-2%), Oil and Gas Development Company (-1.6%), Engro (-1%), Fauji Fertiliser (-0.6%) and UBL (-0.2%) contributed to the negative close.
Traded value dropped 24% to $60 million and volumes came in at 290 million shares, down 23% compared to the last trading session.
“Going forward, we expect the market to trade sideways and recommend investors to buy on dips,” the analyst said.
Overall, trading volumes dropped to 290.1 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 377.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.8 billion.
Shares of 403 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 145 stocks closed higher, 241 declined and 17 remained unchanged.
Hascol Petroleum was the volume leader with 43.9 million shares, losing Rs0.15 to close at Rs15.48. It was followed by TRG Pakistan with 28.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.77 to close at Rs46.41 and Unity Foods with 19.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.38 to close at Rs16.67.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs20 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.