Market watch: Investors cautious amid political uncertainty

Benchmark KSE-100 index climbs 65 points۔

KARACHI: Investors remained cautious amid political noise and opted for banking their profits in fundamentally stronger stocks.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index climbed 0.42% or 64.46 points to end at the 15,278.48 point level.

Trade volumes remained low at 176 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 154 million shares.

Index heavyweight – oil and gas sector – led the gains as the industry’s scrips witnessed buying over the news that the government approved term finance certificates to control the spiralling circular debt issue. Oil and Gas Developmnet Company alone contributed 42 points, Pakistan Oilfields stock price surged Rs4 over expectations of a strong financial result this Saturday, Samar Iqbal, equity dealer at Topline Securities.

Ambiguity regarding the Prime Minister’s National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) hearing on September 17, 2012 and tomorrow’s strike over the local government ordinance issue dented investor sentiments, said Mujtaba Barakzai, analyst at JS Global Capital. The previous NRO hearing led to the resignation of the then prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

The Sindh Peoples Local Government Ordinance seeks alliance of the government with opposition parties and allows province to adopt its own local body laws. The ordinance has created a stir in Sindh’s political landscape as five ministers have resigned, the coalition has kicked the bucket and the nationalists are going on strike today.

Shares of 343 companies were traded on Wednesday. At the end of the day 153 stocks closed higher, 143 declined while 47 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5 billion.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company was the volume leader with 30 million shares shedding Rs0.25 to finish at Rs18.6. It was followed by Karachi Electric Supply Company with 19 million shares gaining Rs0.32 to close at Rs7.2 and Pace – a real estate developer – with 16.8 shares gaining Rs0.21 to close at Rs3.62.

Uncertainty over no dividends announced by PTCL with its financial year 2012 results attracted selling pressure on the scrip and led the stock dipping 1.3% on Wednesday.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs13.8 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2012.