Market watch: Investors bank profits over law and order situation
Benchmark KSE-100 index falls 77 points.
KARACHI:
The first trading session of the week ended on a negative note as investors opted to book profits due to the worsening law and order situation in the country.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.5% or 77.12 points to end at 15,375.52 point level.
Lack of triggers dragged the benchmark index to close below 15,400 point level with volumes dropping to a 6-week low, said Samar Iqbal, equity dealer at Topline Securities.
Trade volumes fell to paltry level of 86 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 159 million shares.
Investors remained cautious on heavy futures open interest and the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case hearing due tomorrow, added Iqbal.
Shares of 345 companies were traded on the first trading session of the week. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.6 billion.
Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) was the volume leader with 8.8 million shares shedding Rs0.3 to finish at Rs 6.35. KESC stayed under selling pressure as in earlier reports, the electricity supplier rejected allegations of corruption committed by Ministry of Finance which included illegal benefits of above Rs198 billion to KESC. On the other hand, other provinces teamed up to voice their support to cutting power to the KESC, currently being supplied by the National Transmission and Dispatch Company.
It was followed by Pakistan Telecommunication Company with six million shares falling Rs0.08 to close at Rs18.94 and Nimir Industrial Chemicals with 4.3 million shares losing Rs0.34 to close at Rs4.08.
Engro Corporation after peaking to an intraday high of Rs108.40 closed flat on the news of allocation of gas fields to fertiliser plants on the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines network.
Index heavyweight oil and gas sector pulled the bourse down as falling international oil prices with post-result profit taking took the toll on the scripts, according to JS Global Capital analyst Shakir Padela.
Market is expected to consolidate around these levels as participants await the next monetary policy while keeping a close eye on the political situation in country, added Padela.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs175.5 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2012.
The first trading session of the week ended on a negative note as investors opted to book profits due to the worsening law and order situation in the country.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.5% or 77.12 points to end at 15,375.52 point level.
Lack of triggers dragged the benchmark index to close below 15,400 point level with volumes dropping to a 6-week low, said Samar Iqbal, equity dealer at Topline Securities.
Trade volumes fell to paltry level of 86 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 159 million shares.
Investors remained cautious on heavy futures open interest and the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case hearing due tomorrow, added Iqbal.
Shares of 345 companies were traded on the first trading session of the week. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.6 billion.
Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) was the volume leader with 8.8 million shares shedding Rs0.3 to finish at Rs 6.35. KESC stayed under selling pressure as in earlier reports, the electricity supplier rejected allegations of corruption committed by Ministry of Finance which included illegal benefits of above Rs198 billion to KESC. On the other hand, other provinces teamed up to voice their support to cutting power to the KESC, currently being supplied by the National Transmission and Dispatch Company.
It was followed by Pakistan Telecommunication Company with six million shares falling Rs0.08 to close at Rs18.94 and Nimir Industrial Chemicals with 4.3 million shares losing Rs0.34 to close at Rs4.08.
Engro Corporation after peaking to an intraday high of Rs108.40 closed flat on the news of allocation of gas fields to fertiliser plants on the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines network.
Index heavyweight oil and gas sector pulled the bourse down as falling international oil prices with post-result profit taking took the toll on the scripts, according to JS Global Capital analyst Shakir Padela.
Market is expected to consolidate around these levels as participants await the next monetary policy while keeping a close eye on the political situation in country, added Padela.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs175.5 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2012.