Benchmark index loses 0.35% to settle at 45,728.75
TLTP
KARACHI
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued with a bearish trend for second straight day on Tuesday amid the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary session and the benchmark KSE-100 Index shed 161.29 point (-0.35 percent) to close at 45,728.75 points.
The KSE-100 Index traded in a range of 420.6 points, showing an intraday high of 46,083.6 and a low of 45,663. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 21.38 points (-0.07 percent) to close at 31,626.19 points. However, the All Share Islamic Index gained 41.9 (+0.18 percent) to close at 22,905.38 points.
A total of 359 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 135 closed up, shares of 205 closed down while shares of 19 companies remained unchanged. All share volume decreased by 3.83 million to 718.23 million shares, while market capitalisation decreased by Rs.5.58 billion. Total trades increased by 1,548 to 199,054, while value traded decreased by Rs0.49 billion to Rs25.30 billion.
Among scrips, the volume leader remained WTL with 84.28 million shares, followed by BYCO with 70.43 million and MDTL with 55.44 million shares.
Sector wise, the index was let down by technology & communication with 98 points, commercial banks with 65 points, oil & gas marketing companies with 24 points, pharmaceuticals with 20 points and cement with 14 points. The most points taken off the index was by TRG which stripped the index of 90 points followed by HBL with 43 points, MEBL with 17 points, PSO with 14 points and THALL with 13 points.
Sectors propping up the index were oil & gas exploration companies with 47 points, fertilizer with 21 points, textile composite with 21 points, glass & ceramics with 7 points and tobacco with 6 points. The most points added to the index was by ENGRO which contributed 24 points followed by PPL with 23 points, OGDC with 16 points, ILP with 16 points and HMB with 12 points.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs88 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
According to analysts, market remained range-bound as investors remained cautious on account of FATF plenary meetings started on Monday last. Moreover, investors’ sentiments further affected by hike in global oil prices by around 1.07 percent on production constraints due to the winter storm in Texas, USA, a closing note by Aba Ali Habib Securities cited.
Consequently, E&P sector remained positive throughout the session on the back of an uptrend in international crude oil prices.
