Volatile trading continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday as the KSE-100 index swung between positive and negative territories during which investors looked for cues to set direction of the market.
There was an absence of positive triggers that significantly impacted investors’ interest in building their positions, leading to a flat close for the index.
In the morning, the market commenced trading on a positive note when it touched the intra-day high at 64,936.75 points.
However, soon volatility gripped the bourse, prompting selling in stocks of banks, exploration and production companies, and steel producers for profit-booking. Resultantly, the index touched its intra-day low at 64,098.10 points.
After midday, the market recovered, aided by investor buying in fertiliser and refinery sectors, but it failed to surpass the 65,000-point mark and the day closed on a flat note.
“Stocks closed flat amid concerns about National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) approval of a hike in industrial power tariff and high inflation reported for December 2023,” said Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti.
“Economic risks due to an uncertain fate of reforms post-elections, the circular debt crisis and pre-poll uncertainty played the role of catalysts in bearish close of the market.”
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a marginal decrease of 7.69 points, or 0.01%, and settled at 64,639.16.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its market review, stated that “resistance continued at 65,000 with indices closing marginally down for the day”.
A break of the narrow range between 64,200 and 65,200 points would determine if 63,000 would be revisited before moving higher or if support had risen to 64,000, it said.
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“A sustained move above 65,000 should see the market move quickly to 67,000,” the AHL report added.
JS Global analyst Muhammad Shuja Qureshi said that the stock market rebounded from an intra-day low of 64,098 and finally closed at 64,639, down eight points day-on-day.
The auto sector led the recovery where Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan), Pak Suzuki Motor Company and Sazgar Engineering Works closed at their respective upper circuits, he said.
In addition, fertiliser and refinery sectors also posted gains. However, banks, exploration and production, and steel sectors saw profit-taking.
“Going forward, news on the political front will set direction of the market,” the analyst added.
Overall trading volumes decreased to 548.99 million shares against Wednesday’s tally of 639.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs15.4 billion.
Shares of 360 companies were traded. Of these, 155 stocks closed higher, 184 dropped and 21 remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with trading in 154.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.18 to close at Rs5.65. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 37.1 million shares, losing Rs0.04 to close at Rs1.48 and Fauji Foods with 27.3 million shares, losing Rs0.22 to close at Rs10.74.
Foreign investors were net sellers of shares worth Rs9.9 million, according to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL).
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2024.
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