Weekly review: KSE-100 plunges 790 points in forgettable week
Volumes dropped 20 per cent while index heavyweights took a hit.
Volumes dropped 20 per cent while index heavyweights took a hit.
KARACHI:
It was a week to forget at the stock market as fallout in peace talks and disappointing earnings announcements took its toll on the bourse, resulting in the benchmark KSE-100 index taking a plunge of 790 points (3%) to close at 25,603.
The KSE-100 index closed in the red in four of the five trading sessions of the week and would have closed even lower had it not been for late buying in blue-chip stocks in the final hours of trading on Friday. It was the fourth consecutive week in which the index has closed lower than the preceding week.
The mood at the bourse was largely dominated by the ongoing peace talks. The situation will be closely monitored by investors.
The earnings season also continued to disappoint as a majority of announcements fell short of expectations. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) led the way as both Hubco and Kapco announced earnings decline by 38% and 23% respectively for the first half of the current fiscal year.
Hubco’s share price dropped 13% and Kapco’s share price slid 10% on the disappointing results. Both companies collectively contributed to 188 points of the KSE-100’s decline for the week.
Index heavyweights, Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) and Nestle Pakistan, also bore the brunt of the investors wrath and fell 2% and 12% respectively, resulting in a decline of 114 points for the KSE-100 index.
An improvement in sentiments was witnessed towards the end of the week with Engro Corporation and Engro Fertilizers leading the way, closing at their upper circuit breakers on Friday as it emerged that significant progress had been made in obtaining gas at concessionary rates for its Enven plant.
On the flipside, however, the delay in the announcement of increased Oil Marketing Company (OMC) margins was a negative for the market.
The country’s foreign exchange reserve position improved somewhat, according to the latest figures revealed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The country’s foreign exchange reserves shot up by $355 million, resulting in the SBP’s forex reserves climbing to $3.19 billion from $2.8 billion in the previous week.
Average trading volumes dropped sharply by 20.3% and stood at 202.9 million shares traded per day while average daily values also dropped 20% and stood at Rs6.95 billion traded per day. The market capitalisation of the KSE stood at Rs6.23 trillion at the end of the week.
Winners of the week
TRG Pakistan
TRG Pakistan operates as an information technology company. It provides business support and software services to companies. TRG Pakistan manages call centres and offices located in Pakistan and elsewhere throughout the world.
Lafarge Pakistan
Lafarge Pakistan Cement Company Limited manufactures and sells cement.
JDW Sugar
JDW Sugar Mills produces and sells crystalline sugar. The company is located in District Rahim Yar Khan and was formerly named United Sugar Mills Limited.
Losers of the week
Murree Brewery
Murree Brewery Company Limited specialises in the manufacture of Pakistan-made foreign liquor. The group also has juice
extraction and food manufacturing divisions, located at Rawalpindi and Hattar respectively. Their glass division manufactures all the group’s bottles and jars.
Grays of Cambridge
Grays of Cambridge (Pakistan) Limited is a holding company. The company, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and exports sporting goods, specialising in hockey sticks.
National Foods
National Foods Limited is a diversified food manufacturer. The Group’s products include recipe blends, dehydrated vegetables, pickles, salts, snack foods, desserts and a number of kinds of health foods.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2014.
It was a week to forget at the stock market as fallout in peace talks and disappointing earnings announcements took its toll on the bourse, resulting in the benchmark KSE-100 index taking a plunge of 790 points (3%) to close at 25,603.
The KSE-100 index closed in the red in four of the five trading sessions of the week and would have closed even lower had it not been for late buying in blue-chip stocks in the final hours of trading on Friday. It was the fourth consecutive week in which the index has closed lower than the preceding week.
The mood at the bourse was largely dominated by the ongoing peace talks. The situation will be closely monitored by investors.
The earnings season also continued to disappoint as a majority of announcements fell short of expectations. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) led the way as both Hubco and Kapco announced earnings decline by 38% and 23% respectively for the first half of the current fiscal year.
Hubco’s share price dropped 13% and Kapco’s share price slid 10% on the disappointing results. Both companies collectively contributed to 188 points of the KSE-100’s decline for the week.
Index heavyweights, Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) and Nestle Pakistan, also bore the brunt of the investors wrath and fell 2% and 12% respectively, resulting in a decline of 114 points for the KSE-100 index.
An improvement in sentiments was witnessed towards the end of the week with Engro Corporation and Engro Fertilizers leading the way, closing at their upper circuit breakers on Friday as it emerged that significant progress had been made in obtaining gas at concessionary rates for its Enven plant.
On the flipside, however, the delay in the announcement of increased Oil Marketing Company (OMC) margins was a negative for the market.
The country’s foreign exchange reserve position improved somewhat, according to the latest figures revealed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The country’s foreign exchange reserves shot up by $355 million, resulting in the SBP’s forex reserves climbing to $3.19 billion from $2.8 billion in the previous week.
Average trading volumes dropped sharply by 20.3% and stood at 202.9 million shares traded per day while average daily values also dropped 20% and stood at Rs6.95 billion traded per day. The market capitalisation of the KSE stood at Rs6.23 trillion at the end of the week.
Winners of the week
TRG Pakistan
TRG Pakistan operates as an information technology company. It provides business support and software services to companies. TRG Pakistan manages call centres and offices located in Pakistan and elsewhere throughout the world.
Lafarge Pakistan
Lafarge Pakistan Cement Company Limited manufactures and sells cement.
JDW Sugar
JDW Sugar Mills produces and sells crystalline sugar. The company is located in District Rahim Yar Khan and was formerly named United Sugar Mills Limited.
Losers of the week
Murree Brewery
Murree Brewery Company Limited specialises in the manufacture of Pakistan-made foreign liquor. The group also has juice
extraction and food manufacturing divisions, located at Rawalpindi and Hattar respectively. Their glass division manufactures all the group’s bottles and jars.
Grays of Cambridge
Grays of Cambridge (Pakistan) Limited is a holding company. The company, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and exports sporting goods, specialising in hockey sticks.
National Foods
National Foods Limited is a diversified food manufacturer. The Group’s products include recipe blends, dehydrated vegetables, pickles, salts, snack foods, desserts and a number of kinds of health foods.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2014.