Market watch: Stocks fall in volatile trading

Benchmark KSE-100 index sheds 101.14 points to settle at 44,337.56

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange remained under the grip of volatility on Wednesday as the KSE-100 index had a topsy-turvy movement, driven by the transforming political scenario and the emerging developments prior to the no-confidence motion.

Additionally, the rupee fared no better and lost further ground to close at a historic low against the US dollar, which adversely impacted the trading environment. The currency devaluation indicated that inflation would stay high and prices of commodities would rise further, denting investor sentiment.

Earlier, trading began with a slide, but the KSE-100 index erased losses and notched up gains by midday. The rally, however, proved to be short-lived as the market dived once again.

A buying spree, emerging late in the session, helped the market stay above the 44,000-point mark.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decline of 101.14 points, or 0.23%, to settle at 44,337.56 points.

A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the KSE-100 index stayed in the red territory during the day due to political uncertainty and further rupee devaluation against the dollar.

Main board activity remained dull. On the flip side, activity continued to remain sideways as the market witnessed hefty volumes in third-tier stocks, it said.

JS Global analyst Mubashir Anis Naviwala said that a roller-coaster ride was seen in Wednesday’s trading session due to the rising political temperature in the country.

The KSE-100 index touched intra-day high and low of 44,445 (+6 points) and 43,976 (-463 points) respectively to close at 44,338 (-101 points day-on-day), he said.

Total volume for the day was recorded at 344 million shares where K-Electric (0%), Ghani Global Holdings (+2.1%), WorldCall Telecom (+1.8%), Pak Elektron (-16.2%) and Treet Corp (+0.8%) were the top contributors.

“Going forward, we recommend investors to remain cautious at current levels and wait for any fresh buying,” the analyst said.

Overall trading volumes increased to 344.1 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 268.9 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.8 billion.

Shares of 354 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 158 stocks closed higher, 169 declined and 27 remained unchanged.

K-Electric was the volume leader with 38.4 million shares, closing unchanged at Rs3.11. It was followed by Ghani Global Holdings with 31.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.34 to close at Rs16.24 and WorldCall Telecom with 19.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs1.73.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs535.4 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.