Market watch: Week ends but no respite for index

Benchmark KSE-100 index falls 130.61 points.

KARACHI: The index’s downward journey continued as it concluded the week on a negative note on late selling led by institutions, marking the fifth successive close in the red.

After a volatile day, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index showed a drop of 0.39% or 130.61 points to end at 33,632.19.

“The day started dull and the wider market struggled to find a clear direction, however, selling in cements and select financials in the last one hour of the day pulled benchmark to close near 33,600,”said Elixir Securities analyst Faisal Bilwani.



“Index heavy MCB Bank (MCB PA -4.14%) dented KSE-100 by over 110 points. Engro Corporation (ENGRO PA +2.8%) weathered selling and ended green on rumours related to concessionary gas pricing while listed fertilizer subsidiary Engro Fertilizers (EFERT PA +1.8%) churned nearly 13 million shares and also closed positive.

“We expect volumes to pick up next week with investors looking forward to inflation reading on Monday that will likely give more clarity on central bank’s direction ahead of scheduled meeting to review benchmark interest rate mid-March.

“Cements are expected to test new recent lows while sentiment tracker Engro Corporation along with Engro Fertilizers will be guided by news flow related to gas pricing,” Bilwani concluded.

Trade volumes rose to 208 million shares compared to 169 million on Thursday.

Shares of 348 companies were traded. Of these, 227 declined, 103 closed higher and 18 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs13.2 billion.

Pak Elektron was the volume leader with 19.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.76 to close at Rs60.50. It was followed by K-Electric Limited with 15.6 million shares, losing Rs0.16 to close at Rs8.06 and Engro Fertilizers Limited with 12.9 million shares, gaining Rs1.53 to close at Rs85.82.



Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs591 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 28^th,  2015.

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