Market watch: Index slips back into red

Benchmark KSE-100 index loses 120 points

KARACHI: The index returned to its downward slide after a positive day on Thursday, ending lower despite MSCI’s announcement of including three Pakistani companies to its MSCI Small Frontier Markets Small Cap Index.

At close on Friday, the Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.35% or 119.78 points to end at 34,144.78.



Elixir Securities report said equities ended lower tracking regional markets. “Concerns over global growth and persistent supply glut pushed the global commodity prices to multi-year lows,” said the report. “Index had a positive start but it soon drifted lower to negative territory led by declines in index heavy oils as international crude fell below $42 overnight.”



While oils led the decline, cement, fertiliser and financial sectors followed suit.

“Broader market again witnessed a dull spell of volumes with very selective participation from foreign and local institutions, while small and mid-caps dominated the volumes chart on retail driven activity.”

Meanwhile, MSCI in its November review disclosed three additions in MSCI Pakistan Index comprising of Searle Company (5%), Ferozsons Laboratories (+3.54%) and Byco Petroleum (+3.01%) that attracted investors interest and surged higher, said the report.

JS Global analyst Ovais Ahsan said plummeting global oil and commodity prices hurt markets across the world and the KSE was no exception.



“The biggest index mover today was OGDC (-1.31%) as the largest Pakistani exploration and production lost ground on declining oil prices.”



Trade volumes rose to 181 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 168 million shares.

Shares of 364 companies were traded on Friday. At the end of the day, 167 stocks closed higher, 177 declined while 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.6 billion.

Pace Pakistan was the volume leader with 47.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.24 to finish at Rs8.55. It was followed by Byco Petroleum with 9 million shares, gaining Rs0.71 to close at Rs24.27 and Pakistan International Airlines with 7.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.36 to close at Rs8.91.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs162 million during the trade session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

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

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