Market watch: Stocks extend losses over inflation concerns

Benchmark KSE-100 index sheds 243.70 points to settle at 45,441.10

KARACHI:

Pakistan Stock Exchange extended losses on Thursday as the KSE-100 index shed 244 points, driven by pessimism over fuel price hike coupled with announcement of poor corporate results by some companies.

The market was reeling from the sharp spike in prices of petroleum products, which sparked fears of acceleration in the inflation rate. Owing to the lack of interest, cautious investors resorted to offloading their stockholdings.

Moreover, some of the corporate results turned out to be below market expectations, which dampened investor interest.

Heavyweight sectors including cement, automobile, banks and oil received a hammering, ending the day with losses. A lack of positive triggers added to the selling pressure and contributed to the market’s downtrend.

Following an initial dip, the market posted minor rises and falls in early trading, however, bears gained control towards noon, pulling the index down.

Owing to the selling pressure, the KSE-100 index failed to sustain the 45,500-point mark. A buying spree towards the end helped recoup some of the losses.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 243.70 points, or 0.53%, to settle at 45,441.10 points.

JS Global analyst Waqar Iqbal said that the market remained dull in terms of volumes and the index closed at 45,441, losing 244 points day-on-day.

Major volume leaders were WorldCall Telecom, Hum Network, Telecard Limited, K-Electric and Unity Foods.

Engro Corporation announced its financial result for 2021, where the dividend announcement was below market expectations.

“Going forward, the market is expected to remain range bound, where we believe the trend will depend mainly on key macro indicators,” the analyst said.

In its report, Arif Habib Limited stated that the market remained under pressure due to inflationary concerns arising from higher fuel prices.

In the cement sector, Cherat Cement and Kohat Cement were in the limelight as they announced financial results in line with market expectations.

Mainboard activity remained dull. Across-the-board selling was observed in the last trading hour, which led the market to close in the red zone, the report said.

Topline Securities, in its report, said that Pakistan’s equities market commenced the day on a negative note in the backdrop of corporate announcements which came in below expectations.

Engro Corp announced CY21 earnings where the company declared a payout of Re1 per share against street expectations of Rs4-5.

The news about renewed tensions between Russia and Ukraine further dented investor sentiment.

Overall trading volumes rose to 152.9 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 145.3 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.8 billion.

Shares of 348 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 99 stocks closed higher, 229 declined and 20 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 16.2 million shares, losing Rs0.06 to close at Rs1.96. It was followed by Hum Network with 14.4 million shares, losing Rs0.24 to close at Rs7.26 and Telecard Limited with 10.5 million shares, losing Rs0.68 to close at Rs16.10.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs59.7 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.