KARACHI:
The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday witnessed a tumultuous session, as the benchmark KSE-100 index, after oscillating between green and red zones, shed 205 points and fell below the 44,000-point level.
Trading volume and value remained thin as sceptical investors opted to stay on sidelines, mainly owing to the lack of clarity about the upcoming mini-budget and the revival of International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme.
A gloomy macroeconomic outlook dented investor confidence, forcing market participants to offload their holdings across the board.
Despite a brief rally at the beginning, the KSE-100 index started falling gradually in the initial hours as investors decided to book profits. Throughout the day, the index remained range bound and registered minor ups and downs.
During final hours, selling pressure was witnessed, which dragged the index further down. However, last hour buying activity extended some support as the index managed to recoup some of the losses.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decline of 204.95 points, or 0.46%, to settle at 43,913.44.
A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the market remained choppy due to the upcoming mini-budget. Profit-taking was witnessed in the last trading hour while the market saw a battle between the bulls and bears throughout the day.
Mainboard volumes remained thin due to the lack of any triggers whereas the market continued to trade sideways, witnessing hefty volumes in third-tier stocks.
Sectors contributing to the performance included oil and gas exploration companies (-63 points), technology and communication (-55 points), power generation and distribution (-34 points), commercial banks (-33 points) and food and personal care products (-20 points).
JS Global analyst Muhammad Mubashir said that profit-taking continued across the board on rising concerns about the IMF loan programme and the announcement of mini-budget.
The KSE-100 index closed at 43,913, losing 205 points day-on-day. Market volume remained depressed with total traded volume coming in at 115 million shares.
Cnergyico Pakistan (+0.3%), TRG Pakistan (-4.6%), Unity Foods (-3%), Telecard Limited (-4%) and Hum Network (-2.4%) accounted for around 29% of the total volume.
“Going forward, we expect this range-bound activity to continue and recommend investors to view any downward movement as an opportunity to buy in cement and textile sectors,” the analyst said.
Overall trading volumes fell to 114.7 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 223.4 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.4 billion.
Shares of 342 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 116 stocks closed higher, 196 declined and 30 remained unchanged.
Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 10.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.02 to close at Rs6.32. It was followed by TRG Pakistan with 9.5 million shares, losing Rs5.43 to close at Rs112.97 and Unity Foods (R) with 9.3 million shares, losing Rs0.24 to close at Rs1.55.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs321.34 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan
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