Market watch: As terror blankets city, index wrapped in the red

Benchmark 100-share index falls 108.36 points.

KARACHI: The bourse fell victim to Karachi’s security situation once again as an attack on the Ismaili community left investors in a panicky state.

Despite opening on a positive note, courtesy the favourable Morgan Stanley Capital Investment (MSCI) reclassification, the index took a beating following the terror attack.

Pre-budget uncertainty left many investors adopting caution as the index fell below the 33,000-point barrier.

At close on Wednesday, the Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index decreased 0.33% or 108.36 points to end at 32,915.44



Elixir Securities analyst Faisal Bilwani said Pakistan equities ended negative as mood turned sour after Karachi was hit by the worst terrorist incident this year. “Attack on a bus triggered profit taking,” said Bilwani. “The tragedy brought back uncertainty and concerns of security and law and order.”

“The market opened positive and excitement over MSCI reclassification,” said Bilwani.  “However, turnover remained thin on resistance near 33,200 levels with most activity in small-and mid-cap retail plays on limited institutional participation. Retail investors including day traders hunted for opportunities for a quick buck while reports of foreign buying in index names also made the rounds.

“We see volatile market ahead of the monetary policy while rumours related to SECP investigations and developments on political front and budget will be closely tracked.”

Meanwhile, Topline Securities’ analyst echoed the same view, saying that security concerns led to the decline.

Trade volumes fell to 154 million shares compared to 176 million on Tuesday.

Shares of 332 companies were traded on Wednesday. Of these, 138 companies closed higher, 164 saw a decline and 30 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.3 billion.



Pak Elektron was the volume leader with 20.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.53 to close at Rs61.21. It was followed by Byco Petroleum with 13.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.14 to close at Rs13.11 and Ghani Automobile with 12.8 million shares, gaining Rs1.00 to close at Rs6.84.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs393 million worth of shares during the session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th,  2015.

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