OGDC gained 1.2%, Mari Petroleum 5%, National Refinery 2.8% and Pakistan Oilfields 0.2%. PHOTO: INP
Trading activity was minimal as investors seemed cautious near 34,500 points with some index-heavy oil shares failing to encourage interest.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index ended the day’s trading with a decrease of 0.40% or 137.41 points to end at 34,432.89.
According to Elixir Securities analyst Haris Ahmed Batla, Engro Corporation (-1.85%) that has been a star in the previous session, lost ground on reported institutional selling while cement and financial stocks continued to trade mix.
“Morning news of the approval of textile policy attracted early interest in textile plays namely Nishat Mills (+0.93%) and Nishat Chunian (+1%), but later profit-taking pulled the stocks to close flat.”
Moreover, earnings announcements for Allied Bank (-2.54%), Pakistan Telecommunication (+0.71%) and Cherat Cement (-1.86%) failed to bring any excitement, said Batla.
JS Global analyst Mohammad Mobeen was of the view that the negativity that prevailed in the market was due to the political unease between two major parties and local investors, who followed foreign portfolio flows, which had turned negative in the past two days.
“Exploration and production sector and oil marketing companies (OMCs) rallied as international crude oil prices stabilised around $55 per barrel,” said Mobeen.
OGDC gained 1.2%, Mari Petroleum 5%, National Refinery 2.8% and Pakistan Oilfields 0.2%.
“Moving forward, we expect the market to remain in the corrective phase throughout the week and suggest that investors should remain cautious and stay close to the fundamentally strong stocks,” he said.
Trade volumes slightly rose to 265 million shares compared to 262 million on Monday.
Shares of 371 companies were traded. Of these, 222 declined, 129 closed higher and 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs15.6 billion.
Pak Elektron was the volume leader with 30.8 million shares, gaining Rs1.85 to close at Rs58.19. It was followed by Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 25.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.24 to close at Rs21.59 and Maple Leaf Cement with 18.1 million shares, gaining Rs1.19 to close at Rs57.59.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs30.8 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, February 11th, 2015.
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