Market Watch: Bourse takes a breather

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

KARACHI:

After gaining for three consecutive days, the stock market took a breather on Thursday by wandering along the neutral line before declining near the end of the session.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.19 per cent or 28.38 points to end at the 14,568.21 point level.

The profit-taking was further induced by news flow of aid cut for Pakistan military by the US Congress, said JS Global Capital analyst Shakir Padela.

The upcoming Ramazan and court proceeding regarding the contempt bill and prime minister’s hearing regarding the letter to the Swiss authorities keep investors cautious, added Padela.

Trade volumes stayed at a healthy 165 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 168 million shares.

News about Securities and Exchange of Commission of Pakistan (SECP) allegations on Independent Power Producers (IPPs) regarding financial discrepancies seemed ineffective as Hub Power Company crawled down 0.66%, Kapco gained 0.2% and Nishat Power declined 0.02% to close almost flat, according to Elixir Securities equity dealer Harris Ahmed Batla.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs55 million worth of shares, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Shares of 375 companies were traded on Thursday. At the end of the day 150 stocks closed higher, 139 declined while 86 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.6 billion.

Jahangir Siddiqui and Company was the volume leader with 33.4 million shares declining Rs0.74 to finish at Rs16.4. It was followed by Azgard Nine with 13.6 million shares falling Rs0.04 to close at Rs7.2 and JS Investments with 10.8 million shares increasing Rs0.61 to close at Rs10.02.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2012.