Stocks lose ground amid range-bound trading

KSE-100 index sheds 361 points as investor sentiment remains mixed

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KARACHI:

A range-bound session marked trading at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as investor sentiment remained mixed in the corporate earnings season.

Though the KSE-100 index kicked off proceedings on a positive note, it closed with a loss of 361 points. The index touched the intra-day high of 113,477.71 earlier in the day, but the strength proved short-lived, with bears taking over control before midday.

Amidst consolidation, the bourse wiped out all the gains and dropped to the intra-day low of 112,540.12 towards the close of trading.

At the end of the day, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a loss of 360.86 points, or 0.32%, and settled at 112,564.08.

In its comments, Topline Securities said Pakistan's bourse saw a range-bound session, where the benchmark index swung between the intra-day high of 553 points and low of 385 points. It closed at 112,564, marking a modest decline of 361 points.

Investor sentiment remained mixed. While Meezan Bank results were in line with market expectations, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) earnings fell slightly short of industry forecasts due to weaker-than-anticipated gross margins, it said.

The upward movement was primarily driven by Lucky Cement, MCB Bank, Bank Alfalah, NBP and Meezan Bank, which added 184 points to the index. On the other hand, Pakistan Petroleum, Engro Holdings and PSO dragged the index down by 254 points, Topline added.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) reported that the KSE-100 index managed to stay above 112,000 as further consolidation was observed.

Some 41 stocks rose while 53 fell where major contributors to the index gains were Lucky Cement (+2.82%), Pakistan Services (+6.72%) and MCB Bank (+0.83%). On the flip side, Pakistan Petroleum (-2.66%), PSO (-2.95%) and Bank AL Habib (-4.57%) were the biggest laggards, it said.

Among corporate announcements, AHL mentioned, PSO reported a significant boost in 1HFY25 earnings, posting earnings per share (EPS) of Rs23.81, up three times year-on-year (YoY).

On a quarterly basis, PSO reported EPS of Rs15.35 for 2QFY25, a turnaround from the loss per share of Rs30.11 in the same quarter of last year, thanks to inventory gains and lower finance costs.

Meezan Bank declared CY24 EPS of Rs57.28, reflecting a 20% YoY increase. However, the bank's 4QCY24 EPS was down 8% YoY at Rs13.66. The bank also announced a final dividend of Rs7 per share, which took total dividend to Rs28 for the year, AHL added.

KTrade Securities commented that the stock market experienced a mixed performance, with the cement sector leading the gains, while exploration and production (E&P), investment companies and technology sectors lost ground.

It anticipated that once market sentiment improved, cyclical stocks and E&P companies would outperform others. It advised investors to keep a close watch on the ongoing results season as it may provide cues for future market direction.

Overall trading volumes decreased to 596.7 million shares compared with Wednesday's tally of 669.6 million. Shares of 445 companies were traded. Of these, 176 stocks closed higher, 221 decreased and 48 remained unchanged.

The Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with trading in 79.3 million shares, falling Rs0.05 to close at Rs11.86. It was followed by Lotte Chemical with 72.1 million shares, losing Rs0.33 to close at Rs21.23 and Power Cement with 40.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.57 to close at Rs10.03.

During the day, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs510.6 million, the NCCPL reported.