Market watch: Range-bound trading continues as index ends in the red

Benchmark KSE-100 index falls 56.58 points.

KARACHI: Pakistan equities continued their seesaw ride, ending slightly lower on Tuesday after a lacklustre trading session saw the benchmark-100 index trading in the range of 160 points.

Turnover in the wider market remained minimal as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of a long weekend and in absence of support from institutional flows.

At close on Tuesday, the KSE-100 index fell 0.17% or 56.58 points to end at 33,910.17.

Elixir Securities, in its report, said most activity was seen in small and mid-caps that dominated the volumes chart over retail activity.



“Index-heavy Exploration and Production (E&Ps) sector tracked global crude and closed lower, with Pakistan State Oil (PSO 1.65%) also ending in red over mid-day news of an arrest of a company’s senior official over corruption allegations,” it said.

“Contrary to the market’s weak performance, pharmaceuticals added to recent gains on earnings and pay-out excitement,” said the report.

Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Ahmad Saeed Khan said cherry picking and profit taking continued in the fertiliser sector on the back of an expected gas tariff hike in January, as Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT) and Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL) closed -1.27% and -0.74%, respectively.



“The banking sector remained upbeat throughout the day, with three out of five big five banks closing marginally higher.

Trade volumes rose to 170 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 135 million shares.

Shares of 384 companies were traded on Tuesday. At the end of the day, 135 stocks closed higher, 218 declined while 31 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.8 billion.

TRG Pakistan Limited was the volume leader with 14.7 million shares, gaining Rs1.09 to finish at Rs37.35. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 14.2 million shares, losing Rs3.98 to close at Rs76.75 and Jahangir Siddiqui and Company (JSCL) with 11.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.43 to close at Rs21.35.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs25 million during the trade session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2015.

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