Market watch: After a nosedive, index recovers but ends in the red

Benchmark 100-share index loses 407.4 points; lost 904 intra-day.

KARACHI: Bearish sentiments prevailed on the Karachi bourse on Thursday, as the benchmark index declined by as much as 2.9%, or 904 points, during intra-day trading.

However, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE)-100 Index recovered some loss and closed at 30,678.97 points, eventually registering a decline of 1.31% or 407.4 points.



However, at the start, the benchmark index had increased by 0.9% after Moody’s Investor Service revised outlook on Pakistan’s foreign currency government bond from stable to positive, said Topline Securities report.

“However, the global sell-off due to turmoil in the Middle East added fuel to the fire at a time when foreigners are net sellers and rollover of futures contracts is under way.

“There was speculation of aggressive selling by local funds, which further dampened market sentiments. Local funds net selling stood at Rs802 million intra-day.

Buying by local institutions in the latter half of the session helped recovery of leading cement and fertiliser stocks, which had declined to lower cap levels earlier, the report added.

Meanwhile, Adam Securities analyst Fahad Hussain Khan while speaking to The Express Tribune said the market is under pressure due to heavy selling by foreign funds. Political uncertainty in Karachi has also led investors to sell their holdings, he added.

“Foreign selling is pushing the index into the red zone. Cement and banking sectors are particularly under pressure,” Khan said.

The KSE-100 Index declined despite Moody’s upgraded Pakistan’s foreign currency government bond rating from stable to positive – something that should have triggered bullish sentiments in the market.

Trade volumes rose to 258 million shares compared to 99 million on Wednesday.

Shares of 337 companies were traded on Thursday. Of these, 289 companies declined, 34 closed higher and 14 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs12.6 billion.

K-Electric Limited was the volume leader with 33.9 million shares, losing Rs0.12 to close at Rs6.89. It was followed by the Bank of Punjab with 22.1 million shares, losing Rs0.80 to close at Rs8.81 and Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 14.5 million shares, losing Rs0.25 to close at Rs15.56.



Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs75.8 million worth of shares during the session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.

trade.Published in The Express Tribune, March  27^th,  2015.

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