Market Watch: Regional peers keeps bourse under pressure

KSE’s benchmark 100-share index gains 12 points.

KARACHI: After a five-day break, the bourse index remained under pressure throughout the day owing to a sell-off in international markets.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index gained 0.1 per cent or 11.75 points to end at 11,969.05 point level on Thursday.

Asian stock markets slumped after Wall Street experienced a pummelling, with a surge in Italy’s borrowing costs fuelling global anxiety about the future of the euro. Hong Kong stocks slumped more than five percent and in Tokyo, the Nikkei ended down almost three percent.

Jittery investors booked profits in key oil and fertiliser stocks as most local institutions remained on the sidelines fearing foreign selling, said JS Global Capital analyst Jawad Khan.

Investors seemed to prolong the holiday break as trade volumes fell to dismal level of 49 million shares compared with     Friday’s tally of 56 million shares. The bourse was closed till Wednesday due to Eid and Iqbal Day holidays.

Engro was the worst hit among fertiliser stocks as it dipped 3.2%, while among oil stocks Pakistan State Oil dipped 0.8% despite news that the government converted Rs391 billion of circular debt into Pakistan Investment Bonds and T-Bills.

On the other hand, index heavyweights MCB Bank & Oil and Gas Development Company jumped 3.0% and 0.7%, respectively, over rumours of foreign buying.

There were rumours in the market of a large block trade in MCB Bank, however, no deal went through until midday trade, according to Elixir Securities.

Foreign institutional investors were buyers of Rs622 million and sellers of Rs396 million worth of shares, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Shares of 314 companies were traded on the first of the two sessions of the week. At the end of the day 96 stocks closed higher, 108 declined while 110 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.26 billion.

Bank Alfalah was the volume leader with 6.4 million shares gaining Rs0.27 to finish at Rs11.74. It was followed by National Bank of Pakistan with 4.39 million shares declining Rs0.17 to close at Rs44.89 and Engro Corporation with 3.9 million shares losing Rs4.304 to close at Rs131.49.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th,  2011.