Market watch: Slight uptick as index ends in black
With investors opting to remain on the sidelines ahead of Eid holidays, major activity was limited to select scrips as turnover remained low. The cement sector was in the limelight as value buying seemed the order of the day.
At close on Tuesday, the Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index rose 0.17% or 55.78 points to end at 32,882.02.
Elixir Securities analyst Faisal Bilwani said equities remain relatively unchanged on Tuesday’s close as KSE-100 index tested the 33,100 level in early trade. “Stocks opened positive, continuing with Monday’s momentum, while reported institutional flows in equities supported the upward drive.
“Cements including Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (+2.56%), Lucky Cement Limited (+2.40%) and DG Khan Cement Company Limited (+1.18%) continued to edge up on value buying, while Cherat Cement Company Limited (+4.97%) ended the day at its upper price limit.
“Despite excitement in cements, other sectors failed to sustain their gains and the market plummeted to close marginally above the Monday’s level as investors resorted to profit booking.”
Speculating on how the market could behave in the coming days, Bilwani said the index is likely to remain range bound and consolidate near current levels with cements, fertiliser and yield players as the top picks. Meanwhile, analyst Ovais Ahsan of JS Global said the bulls got some respite as market rumors of investigations and inquiries subsided and investors got back into action to take advantage of an oversold market offering attractive valuations at discounted prices.
“The market closed in the green on the back of activity in the cement sector as prospects of strong earnings growth invited fundamental investors . Some support from local institutional participation was seen as an uptick in volumes was witnessed.
“We expect the market to show some muted gains in the last trading session ahead before the long Eid weekend.”
Trade volumes rose to 137 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 105 million shares.
Shares of 357 companies were traded on Tuesday. At the end of the day, 209 stocks closed higher, 120 declined while 28 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.8 billion.
Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited was the volume leader with 14.7 million shares, gaining Rs1.14 to finish at Rs25.34. It was followed by Dewan Cement Limited with 8.7 million shares gaining, Rs0.54 to close at Rs16.83 and TRG Pakistan Limited with 7.5 million shares, losing Rs0.19 to close at Rs31.68.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs147 million during the trade session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2015.
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