Jahangir Siddiqui (JSCL -7.1%) continued to churn out a major share in volumes, followed by retail interest in other second and third-tier textile and cement names.
The stock market opened sideways before spending the day in the red, marred by profit-taking in index-heavy oil names such as Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC -0.5%), Pakistan Petroleum (PPL -0.5%) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO -1.4%).
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index dropped 0.67% or 180.73 points to end at 26,681.78 on Friday.
“Financials traded mixed amidst sluggish volumes with Bank Alfalah (BAFL +0.6%) and Meezan Bank (MEBL +1.7%) settling in the green,” said Fareesa Baig of Elixir Securities.
Engro Fertilizer (EFERT +5%) announced 2013 earnings at Rs4.66 per share compared to Rs2.59 per share last year, beating analyst expectations and closing at its upper price limit for the day.
Cherat Cement (CHCC +3.5%) followed suit, announcing its first-half earnings at Rs7.43 per share, up 17% year-on-year, trading against sector sentiments as most cement names saw investors booking profits.
Jahangir Siddiqui (JSCL -7.1%) continued to churn out a major share in volumes, followed by retail interest in other second and third-tier textile and cement names.
“Investors should keep a close watch on the ongoing peace talks with the Taliban while IMF-related news could also revive confidence and help market gain a foothold,” Baig said.
Trade volumes rose to 287 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 254 million.
Shares of 383 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 101 stocks closed higher, 265 declined and 17 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.6 billion.
Jahangir Siddiqui and Company was the volume leader with 46.8 million shares, losing Rs1 to finish at Rs13.09. It was followed by Azgard Nine with 23.4 million shares, losing Rs0.82 to close at Rs8.77 and Engro Fertilizer Limited with 13.8 million shares, gaining Rs2.32 to close at Rs49.09.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs275 million worth of shares, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2014.
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