Market watch: Stocks fall as global crude oil rises

Benchmark KSE-100 index dips 350.67 points to settle at 45,012.18

KARACHI:

Pakistan Stock Exchange extended losses on Tuesday, as jittery investors took cue from the global equities’ sell-off amid rising geopolitical tensions that lifted international crude oil prices.

The benchmark KSE-100 index, in the absence of any positive triggers, stayed in the red zone throughout the session.

Index heavyweight sectors, mainly technology and cement, remained under pressure as nervous investors opted to book profits across the board.

Adding to investor woes, a fresh fall of the rupee against the US dollar haunted the trading environment at the bourse.

Earlier, the trading session kicked off with a steep decline and investors continued to book profits amid a lack of positive news. From that point onwards, the index experienced fluctuations but remained in the negative territory.

In the second half, the KSE-100 touched an intra-day low of 44,699 points. However, a buying spree in the final hour helped it recover some of the lost ground.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decline of 350.67 points, or 0.77%, to settle at 45,012.18 points.

In its report, Arif Habib Limited stated that the market remained under pressure due to mounting international oil prices.

New York’s West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contract rose more than 3% as Russian President Vladimir Putin deployed troops to the separatist areas of Ukraine.

Stock selling was witnessed throughout the day mainly in the technology and cement sectors, which kept the market in the red zone. In the last trading hour, value hunting was observed, resulting in some recovery in the market.

The market continued to trade sideways as it witnessed hefty volumes in third-tier stocks.

Sectors contributing to the performance included technology (-124 points), cement (-54 points), fertiliser (-40.5 points), power (-38 points) and oil marketing companies (-21 points).

Topline Securities, in its report, said that Pakistan equities closed in the red on rising geopolitical tensions.

Major negativity was witnessed in technology stocks where TRG Pakistan and Systems Limited closed lower, erasing 109 points from the KSE-100 index.

“On the results front, Millat Tractors announced its second quarter 2021-22 earnings per share of Rs25.45 along with dividend per share of Rs45 and 20% bonus,” the report said.

Thal Limited announced its second quarter FY22 earnings per share of Rs22.22 along with dividend per share of Rs5, it added. Citi Pharma also announced its second quarter FY22 results, posting earnings per share of Rs1.11.

JS Global analyst Waqar Iqbal said that the market remained under pressure on account of redemptions by mutual funds and global political noise.

Russia’s announcement that it was deploying forces in the breakaway region led international crude oil prices to rise 3% during the day.

WorldCall Telecom, The Bank of Punjab, Telecard Limited, TRG Pakistan and TPL Properties were among the volume leaders.

“Going forward, we expect the market to remain range bound due to the geopolitical situation and the ongoing rollover week,” the analyst said.

Overall trading volumes rose to 227.2 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 137.7 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.6 billion.

Shares of 341 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 75 stocks closed higher, 252 declined and 14 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 23.7 million shares, losing Rs0.05 to close at Rs1.80. It was followed by The Bank of Punjab with 14.4 million shares, losing Rs0.2 to close at Rs7.95 and Telecard Limited with 12.9 million shares, losing Rs1.08 to close at Rs14.75.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs128.7 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.