Market watch: Bourse falls on uncertain US ties

KSE’s benchmark 100-share index down 28 points.

KARACHI: The stock market witnessed a downward amid increasing tension with the US on Thursday, a day on which most Asian markets closed at a week-high.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.21 per cent or 28.43 points to end at the 13,717.30 point level.

Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday the United States was reaching the limits of its patience with Pakistan because of the safe havens the country offered to insurgents from Afghanistan.

Rising diplomatic tension is expected to haunt local investors in the absence of short-term triggers, said JS Global Capital analyst Murtaza Jafar.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.8% and Japan’s Nikkei average advanced 1.1%.

Trade volumes gained to 110 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 78 million shares.

The monetary policy due tomorrow is expected to give future direction, added Jafar. Most participants expect the central bank to keep the policy rate unchanged.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs34 million worth of shares, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited. Foreigners were rumored sellers in banking and energy stocks while locals were buyers in the fertiliser sector.

Shares of 351 companies were traded on Thursday. At the end of the day 78 stocks closed higher, 199 declined while 74 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.8 billion.

Jahangir Siddiqui and Company was the volume leader for the second consecutive day with 15.70 million shares declining Rs0.87 to finish at Rs13.03. It was followed by DG Khan Cement with 7.49 million shares firming Rs0.02 to close at Rs41.10 and Azgard Nine with 5.25 million shares falling Rs0.70 to close at Rs5.62.

On Thursday

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.8 percent and Japan’s Nikkei average advanced 1.1 percent.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2012.