Market watch: Rally continues on slightly subdued note

Index gains 38 points in range bound session.


Our Correspondent April 04, 2013
Index gains 38 points in range bound session.

KARACHI:


Stocks continued to rally for the fourth straight day at the Karachi bourse, with some analysts saying they believe the 20,000 points barrier is in sight.


“The local bourse witnessed a range bound session after a straight gain of more than 500 points in the last three days,” said Topline Securities Senior Manager Equity Sales Samar Iqbal. “Oil and cement stocks witnessed profit taking, while investors also trimmed their positions in the fertiliser sector,” she added.

“Strong data on urea, DAP and cement sales for March and speculations ahead of the upcoming State Bank policy rate announcement played a catalyst role in the higher close at the KSE,” observed Ahsan Mehanti, analyst at Arif Habib Corp.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index gained 0.20% or 37.56 points to end at the 18,613.44 points level. Trade volumes rose to 246 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 203 million shares. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.38 billion.

Dewan Cement was the volume leader with 20.96 million shares, gaining Rs0.05 to finish at Rs5.40. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 20.20 million shares, losing Rs0.95 to close at Rs19.37; and Engro Corporation with 12.16 million shares, losing Rs0.48 to close at Rs135.75.

“Where will the Unilever buyback money go?” was the question on most investors’ mind, Elixir Securities analyst Muhammad Raza Rawjani said. “Investors expect it will chase other consumer stocks and related companies, and this explains upper price circuits in most consumer stocks,” he observed.

“Apart from consumer goods stocks, the index traded in a narrow band with investors seen booking profits in cements and fertilisers, as both sectors have delivered a decent run in the last few trading sessions. Interestingly, institutional interest is again flowing into banks, as many expect interest rates to reverse as early as June 2013,” Rawjani added.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs136.86 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2013.

Like Business on Facebook to stay informed and join in the conversation.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ