Stocks sink below 41,000 amid political noise

KARACHI:

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday lost significant ground in the face of political uncertainty that grew with the announcement of long march by PTI Chairman Imran Khan, beginning October 28.

The benchmark KSE-100 index dived and shed 650 points as bears resorted to stock selling due to emerging political developments.

The market came under selling pressure, which persisted throughout the trading session, dragging the index below the 42,000- point mark. Depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar by 0.43% in inter-bank market further dented investor interest.

Earlier, the session kicked off on a negative note as the market dipped soon after commencing trading. It remained under selling pressure, touching intra-day low of 41,490.13 points. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 650 points, or 1.54%, to settle at 41,540.03.

Topline Securities, in its report, said that Pakistan equities faced a bearish trend as the KSE-100 index settled at 41,540 (down 1.54%).

The day kicked off on a negative note where the index hit intra-day low of 699 points as PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced that his long march would start from Lahore on Friday, it said.

Major decliner of the day was TRG Pakistan that erased 89 points from the index. Its stock closed at the lower limit of 7.5%.

On the results front, Systems Limited announced 3Q2022 earnings per share (EPS) of Rs7.7 and Millat Tractors posted 1QFY23 EPS of Rs3.87.

Apart from these, MCB Bank announced 3Q2022 EPS of Rs7.8 along with dividend of Rs5 per share and Habib Bank announced 3Q2022 EPS of Rs7.8 along with dividend of Rs1.5 per share. Traded volume and value stood at 265 million shares (up by 36%) and Rs7.71 billion (up by 24%) respectively.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with trading in 35.4 million shares, Topline added.

Arif Habib Limited, in its report, said that the PSX nosedived in a “bloodbath session”.

After former prime minister unveiled his plans for long march, investor confidence was shaken and the market fell to intra-day low of 699.90 points at the start of trading, it said.

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“Volumes in the main board were decent while third-tier stocks continued to remain in the limelight.”

The index closed at 41,540.03, down by 650 points (-1.54%). Sectors contributing to the performance included cement (-103.4 points), technology and communication (-89.7 points), E&P (-81.2 points), power generation and distribution (-77.2 points) and fertiliser (-53.6 points). Volumes increased from 195.4 million shares to 265.4 million (35.8%).

Traded value increased by 23% to $35 million against $28.41 million a day ago, Arif Habib report added.

JS Research analyst Sara Saeed said that bears took control of the KSE-100 index as it closed at 41,540, losing 650 points day-on-day.

Selling pressure was witnessed across the board due to an uncertain political situation, she said.

Traded volume stood at 265 million shares where WorldCall Telecom (-8.4%), K-Electric (-3.8%), TRG Pakistan (-7.5%), Hascol Petroleum (-6.2%) and Hum Network (4.1%) were the major contributors.

“We expect the market to continue the downward trend and therefore recommend investors to avail the downside as an opportunity to accumulate blue-chip stocks,” the analyst said.

Overall trading volumes increased to 265.4 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 195.4 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.7 billion. Shares of 322 companies were traded.

At the end of the day, 52 stocks closed higher, 261 declined and nine remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 35.4 million shares, losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs1.42. It was followed by G3 TechClassB with 14.5 million shares, losing Rs0.29 to close at Rs0.02 and K-Electric with 12.3 million shares, losing Rs0.11 to close at Rs2.79.

Foreign investors were net buyers of Rs109.6 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.