KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned bearish on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 255.58 points (-0.55 percent) to close at 45,817.67 points.
The market opened on a positive note but remained range-bound. The indices remained mostly in green territory for the first two-hour trading and later, the bears took charge of the market till the end of the session.
The market witnessed selling pressure amid expected increase in prices of petroleum products and electricity tariff in the coming days, following an agreement with the International Monetary Fund in this regard. The removal of oil and electricity subsidies will raise inflation and overall cost of production. Moreover, the rollover week is also going on, which also prompts selling pressure.
According to Aba Ali Habib Securities, the bearish sentiments among investors stemmed from draining foreign reserves of the country as local currency is under hefty pressure. The position stays uncertain as the market will shape its upcoming sessions owing to the factors which would unfold after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia this week.
The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 401.66 points, showing an intraday high of 46,184.55 and a low of 45,782.89 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 176.46 points (-0.56 percent) to close at 31,116.27 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 182.96 points (-0.8 percent) to close at 22,565.05 points.
A total of 341 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 98 closed up, shares of 218 closed down while shares of 25 companies remained unchanged. Out of 92 traded companies in the KSE-100 Index, 22 closed up, 66 closed down and four remained unchanged.
The overall market volumes decreased by 158.63 million to 210.20 million shares. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased to 93.62 million shares. The number of total trades decreased by 37,998 to 79,209, while the value traded decreased by Rs3.44 billion to Rs6.23 billion. Overall market capitalisation decreased by Rs44.2 billion.
Among scrips, GTECH topped the volumes with 18.85 million shares, followed by LOTCHEM (17.92 million) and HUMNL (14.3 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included GTECH, LOTCHEM, HUMNL, WTL and TELE, which formed over 35 percent of total volumes.
In terms of rupee, NESTLE remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs149.99 (+2.63 percent) per share, closing at Rs5,849.99. The runner-up remained BHAT, the share price of which climbed up by Rs100 (+7.3 percent) to Rs1,470. COLG remained the top loser in terms of rupee and witnessed a decrease of Rs66.66 (-3 percent) per share, closing at Rs2,155.56, followed by BATA, the share price of which declined by Rs54.99 (-2.39 percent) to close at Rs2,245 per share.
The sectors taking the index towards the south were oil & gas exploration companies (65 points), technology & communication (39 points), power generation & distribution (36 points), cement (33 points) and oil & gas marketing companies (22 points). The most points taken off the index were by HUBC (29 points), TRG (25 points), PPL (23 points), LUCK (22 points) and POL (19 points).
The sectors taking the index towards the north were fertilizer (61 points) and food & personal care products (one point). The most points added to the index were by EFERT (31 points), FFC (21 points), BAFL (15 points), LOTCHEM (14 points) and ENGRO (9 points).
