Market watch: Bourse continues upward march, profit-taking clips gains

Benchmark KSE-100 index rises 71.92 points

KARACHI: The stock market recorded small gains closing above 34,500 points on Tuesday as late profit-taking pared gains in a rally led by cement and oil companies.

At close, the Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index showed a rise of 0.21% or 71.92 points at 34,538.45.

Elixir Securities analyst Haris Ahmad Batla said market talk about Lucky Cement obtaining a no-objection certificate from the government for its 650-megawatt coal-fired power plant pushed its stock to the upper circuit.



However, Maple Leaf Cement traded volatile following its half-yearly results with a surprise cash payout of Rs1 per share.

“On the contrary, banking stocks registered selling on highs following morning news that the central bank was considering capping banking spreads, pushing United Bank and Bank Al Habib to close in the red,” Batla said.

“We expect the market to remain volatile as the earnings season kicks off. Any recovery in international crude oil will shift interest to oil plays from cement and financial plays.”

JS Global analyst Muhammad Mobeen said K-Electric stole the limelight as news emerged that the company had entered into an agreement with China Overseas Investment Corporation and China Machinery Engineering Corporation to develop a 700MW coal-based power plant costing about a billion dollars.

“Oil marketing companies and exploration and production sector remained mostly upbeat due to increasing crude oil prices,” he said.

National Refinery Limited (+5%), Pakistan Oilfields Limited (+1.7%), Attock Refinery Limited (+3.7%), Shell Pakistan (+2%) and Mari Petroleum (+2.3%) all rose with the exception of Attock Petroleum Limited (-2.7%) as its financials were disappointing.



Trade volumes declined to 340 million shares compared to 362 million on Monday.

Shares of 384 companies were traded. Of these, 222 declined, 152 closed higher and 10 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs22.9 billion.

Maple Leaf Cement was the volume leader with 38.7 million shares, losing Rs0.07 to close at Rs50.21. It was followed by K-Electric Limited with 28.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.06 to close at Rs9.04 and The Bank of Punjab with 21.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.17 to close at Rs10.98.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs109 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 28^th, 2015.

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