Stocks give up early gains, succumb to profit-booking

KSE-100 index loses 476 points in ongoing consolidation phase

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), after kicking off the new trading session on an upbeat note on Wednesday, gave up early optimism over profit-booking pressure. By the close of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a loss of 476 points, or 0.32%, at 146,529.

In the morning, stocks showed impressive movement, which took the index to intra-day high of 147,892. However, at midday the market began to lose steam as traders grew increasingly risk averse. It resulted in a steady pullback, pushing the index to the day’s low at 146,418. The downturn was largely attributed to profit-booking.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) Head of Research Sana Tawfik told The Express Tribune that the stock market started off on a positive note but lost early momentum due to profit-taking and closed lower. “As expected, it is a consolidation phase at current levels following a streak of record-breaking rallies,” she said.

“However, the sentiment is expected to turn positive in the backdrop of several factors such as Moody’s credit rating upgrade for Pakistan to Caa1 from Caa2 and robust financial results. Profit-taking is also expected to continue simultaneously,” she added. KTrade Securities, in its market wrap, noted that the KSE-100 index remained range bound as investors continued to take profit.

The index lost 476 points and closed at 146,529 after hitting intra-day high of 147,892 and low of 146,418. Cement stocks performed positively while fertiliser and oil and gas sectors lost ground, it said.
Key gainers included Lucky Cement, Habib Bank, Meezan Bank and National Bank. On the flip side, Fauji Fertiliser, Engro Fertilisers, Pakistan Petroleum and MCB Bank pulled the index down.

The uptrend may continue, however, some consolidation is likely as the index hovers around record highs, KTrade concluded. Overall trading volumes decreased to 647.1 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 691.7 million. Traded value stood at Rs40.9 billion.

Shares of 487 companies were traded. Of these, 199 stocks closed higher, 240 dropped and 48 remained unchanged. Yousuf Weaving was the volume leader with trading in 51.8 million shares, gaining five paisa to close at Rs6.14.