Cement and banking sectors were the major market movers, while PSO and Engro Foods gained 1.3% and 2.9% respectively. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Investors opted to book profits with benchmark index nearing 27,000 levels on a volatile day after 4.3% gains during the week.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index rose 0.19% or 49.70 points to end at 26,892.23 on Friday.
“Rumours of a price cut for cement kept the sector under pressure including DG Khan Cement (-2.06%) and Maple Leaf Cement (-1.8%) while Lucky Cement (-1.2%) also closed in the red,” said Haris Ahmed Batla of Elixir Securities.
Oil shares traded near to flat with the exception of Pakistan State Oil (+1.3%) that continued to attract investor’s interest after recent higher than expected earnings and payout announcement while Oil and Gas Development Company (+0.75%) gained despite reports of foreigners’ selling, he said.
Moreover, Moody’s negative outlook on the banking sector kept shares of financial companies under pressure while retail plays continued to lead volume charts.
Engro attracted attention with day traders taking advantage of the volatility as Engro Corporation (+0.5%) and Engro Foods (+2.9%) gained while fertiliser subsidiary Engro Fertilizer (-1.5%) closed lower.
“Rupee gains against the greenback and improvement in foreign reserves will keep the market upbeat and we see the benchmark testing 27k,” Batla added.
Wasi M Khan of JS Global said a fairly volatile session was witnessed at the KSE where the benchmark index opened on a positive note but recorded some profit-taking.
“Finally after touching the low of 26,800, bulls made a comeback in the second session and the market closed up at 26,892 points, a net gain of 0.2% with low volumes,” he said.
Cement and banking sectors were the major market movers, while PSO and Engro Foods gained 1.3% and 2.9% respectively.
Khan said the market was likely to remain volatile in the next few trading sessions as investors may opt for profit-taking.
Trade volumes fell to 206 million shares compared to Thursday’s tally of 263 million.
Shares of 364 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 168 stocks closed higher, 173 declined and 23 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded
during the day was Rs9.6 billion.
Maple Leaf Cement was the volume leader with 25.6 million shares, losing Rs0.54 to finish at Rs29.26. It was followed by TRG Pakistan Limited with 19.1 million shares, gaining Rs1 to close at Rs16.02 and Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 10.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.22 to close at Rs10.36.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs369 million worth of shares, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 8th, 2014.
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