Stocks witness decline in lacklustre session

Stocks ended lower in lacklustre trading on Thursday as investors preferred to book profits at inflated levels due to the Karachi violence.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended 0.37 per cent or 38.55 points lower at 10,351.72 on turnover of 55.74 million shares.

At least 86 people have been killed in Karachi violence since Monday after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) provincial legislator, Raza Haider, was shot dead.

There were also concerns about what impact the floods in Pakistan may have on the political and economic environment, said Topline Securities dealer Samar Iqbal.

Investors kept a low profile because of no official update on the leverage product and MCB Bank earnings the only major announcement, said Elixir Securities analyst, Mohammad Rameez.

Trade volumes fell to 55.7 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 72.55 million shares.

Disappointed investors offloaded their positions in MCB Bank which closed 1.4 per cent down after they announced lower-than-expected results.

The market will now look forward to two key corporate results of Pakistan State Oil and Pakistan Petroleum Limited on Friday, said Rameez. Announcement of the leverage product remains the only serious trigger now, added Rameez.

Shares of 396 companies were traded on Thursday. At the end of the day, 141 stocks closed higher, 226 declined and 29 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.5 billion.

Automobile sector scrips such as Indus Motor and Pak Suzuki were under pressure as the yen strengthened against the dollar to a 15-year high, a sign of caution for local car manufacturers as their margins are expected to decrease, said JS Global Capital analyst Murtaza Jafar.

Arif Habib Securities was the volume leader with 7.3 million shares, losing Rs1.54 to finish at Rs33.08. It was followed by Byco Petroleum with five million shares, gaining Rs0.3 to close at Rs12.43 and Lotte Pakistan PTA with 4.4 million shares, losing Rs0.14 to close at Rs8.1.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2010.