Stocks fall slightly in absence of triggers

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday fell slightly in range-bound trading as investors awaited market-moving triggers and resorted to profit-taking in a couple of key sectors.

In the morning, the KSE-100 index kicked off trading on a positive note and with continuous fluctuations, it reached the intra-day high of 114,457 points just before midday. Afterwards, the index started falling gradually and took a deep dive to the intra-day low of 113,730 towards the close of trading.

According to analysts, the market lacked the required positive triggers with focus on corporate and tax reforms ahead of the upcoming International Monetary Fund (IMF) review of its loan programme.

"Stocks closed lower amid pressure in the pre-budget session as investors eyed corporate and provincial tax reforms ahead of the IMF review of federal budget proposals," said Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp. "Uncertainty about deals with independent power producers and the outcome of tax reforms played the role of catalysts in bearish close," he said.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a thin decline of 78.02 points, or 0.07%, and settled at 113,784.31.

Topline Securities, in its market review, remarked that the local bourse experienced a range-bound session, where the benchmark index fluctuated between the intra-day high of 595 points and low of 133 points. It eventually closed at 113,784, reflecting a modest decline of 78 points. "Investor sentiment remained mixed due to a lack of market-moving triggers," it said.

The upward movement was primarily driven by Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Pakgen Power and Meezan Bank, which collectively contributed 231 points to the index. Conversely, Lucky Cement, HBL and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) erased 132 points, added Topline. Arif Habib Limited (AHL) commented that the PSX saw another session where the KSE-100 index penned in below 115k.

Some 39 shares rose while 56 fell with OGDC (+1.55%), Pakistan Petroleum (+1.24%) and SNGPL (+5.1%) contributing the most to index gains. On the flip side, Lucky Cement (-1.58%), HBL (-1.33%) and Mehmood Textile Mills (-8.42%) were the biggest drags, it said. AHL pointed out that the finance ministry forecast that the pace of inflation would slightly increase to 3-4% in March.

"Heading into the last session of the week, the KSE-100 is currently up 0.87% and our bias remains to the upside. The most bullish thing the index could do would be to close the week above 115k, which will require a 1% rally," it added. JS Global analyst Muhammad Hasan Ather said the KSE-100 index experienced a range-bound session, closing at 113,784 points with a slight decline of 0.1%.

The market's downturn was primarily driven by profit-taking in key sectors, including banking and cement. Despite the dip, the upcoming IMF mission and the first review of $7 billion loan programme were expected to provide a positive outlook for Pakistan's economy, he said.

Overall trading volumes decreased to 397.4 million shares compared to Wednesday's tally of 640.2 million. Total traded value for the day stood at Rs19.3 billion. Shares of 454 companies were traded. Of these, 145 stocks closed higher, 253 declined and 56 remained unchanged.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with trading in 71.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.12 to close at Rs7.81. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 20.3 million shares, losing Rs0.01 to close at Rs1.45 and At-Tahur Limited with 17.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.85 to close at Rs32.84. During the day, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs372 million, according to the NCCPL.