Market watch: Index ends week in the red

Benchmark KSE-100 index drops 105.18 points.

KARACHI: After a positive start, the index was dragged down by select stocks amid low trading to end the week in the red.

At close on Friday, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.32% or 105.18 points to end at 33,263.66.

“MCB Bank Limited (MCB PA -2.3%) and United Bank Limited (UBL PA -1.42%) pushed the index in the red zone on low volumes,” said Harris Ahmed Batla, an analyst at Elixir Securities.



“Cements continued to trade positive with DG Khan Cement (DGKC PA +2.12%) and Cherat Cement (CHCC PA +2.78%) driving the sector while Lucky Cement (LUCK PA -.17%) witnessed profit- taking on reported foreign selling.

“Moreover, Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC PA +.84%) attracted institutional interest ahead of trading SPOT (T+1 on Rs4/share cash payout) while remainder of the volume chart remained dominated by small caps namely Jahangir Siddiqui and Company, Pak Elektron and K-Electric.

“We expect the market to consolidate on current levels while uptick in volumes and recovery in the broader market is anticipated on the excitement of monetary rate cut in the latter half of the month,” he said while recommending DGKC, MLCF, ENGRO and NML as top picks.

Trade volumes dropped to 134 million shares compared to 176 million on Thursday.

Shares of 343 companies were traded on the last trading session of the week. Of these, 184 declined, 138 closed higher and 21 remained unchanged.

The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.2 billion.

Jahangir Siddiqui and Company was the volume leader with 15.2 million shares, losing Rs1 to close at Rs17.99. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 12.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.82 to close at Rs55.9 and K-Electric Limited with 9.7 million shares, losing Rs0.34 to close at Rs7.66.



Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs136 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, March  7^th,  2015.

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