Market watch
\nBenchm\u00adark index decrea\u00adses 1,162.44 points to close at 38,219.67
\nnews desk
\nKARACHI
\nAfter a day\u2019s respite, bears staged a comeback at the bourse, pulling the KSE-100 index down by over 1,100 points as market participants took cue from the tumbling global markets and pulled out their investments to buy safe assets.
\nWorld stock markets dived on Friday as disruptions to business from the spreading coronavirus epidemic worsened, stoking fears of a prolonged economic slowdown. The MSCI\u2019s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.1% during the day.
\nIn addition to this, the global crude oil prices plunged 5% during the day over reports that Russia would not agree to steeper oil output cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to prop up prices.
\nThe revelation triggered selling of oil and gas sector stocks in Pakistan\u2019s market.
\nDespite the pessimism, the cement sector outperformed the market with cement companies topping the volume chart.
\nTrading in the first session began with a dip and weak investor sentiment, coupled with the global sell-off, resulted in the index losing nearly 650 points.
\nThe second session kicked off positively as investor cherry-picked stocks, however, the optimism evaporated shortly and selling pressure emerged once again. In final hours, the market extended its fall and inched closer to the 38,200-point mark towards the close.
\nAt close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decrease of 1,162.44 points, or 2.95%, to settle at 38,219.67.
\nArif Habib Limited Head of Research Samiullah Tariq told The Express Tribune that the dip in the KSE-100 index was a result of the plunge in international stock markets. \u201cIn addition to that, the price of oil fell globally and hence index-heavy stocks related to oil reported losses,\u201d he said.
\nThe analyst pointed out that international crude oil prices massively impacted the direction of the KSE-100 index.
\nMoreover, the global economy was heading towards a recession and investors were pulling out their investments from stocks and ploughing money into safer assets such as gold.
\nHence, the flight to safety triggered the massive sell-off during the day, the analyst concluded.
\nA report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the market saw a major drawdown of 1,259 points during the session, which ended down by 1,162 points.
\n\u201cThe cement sector continued its rally but ended abruptly by the end of session, sustaining price losses from last day\u2019s close,\u201d it said. \u201cOther than that, weak oil prices reflected in the oil and gas chain, primarily due to a decline in US crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI), which hit the lowest level in recent times.\u201d
\nResultantly, Oil and Gas Development Company and Pakistan Petroleum were seen closing near their lower circuits.
\nThe fertiliser sector also booked losses on the back of urea price reduction by Fauji Fertiliser.
\nThe cement sector led the trading volumes with 115.5 million shares, followed by banks (15.5 million) and technology firms (13.8 million), the report added.
\nOverall, trading volumes decreased to 244.5 million shares compared with Thursday\u2019s tally of 340.7 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs11.3 billion.
\nShares of 355 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 67 stocks closed higher, 265 declined and 23 remained unchanged.
\nMaple Leaf Cement was the volume leader with 27.3 million shares, losing Rs0.18 to close at Rs28.02. It was followed by Fauji Cement with 25.9 million shares, losing Rs0.4 to close at Rs17.48 and Pioneer Cement with 22.3 million shares, losing Rs0.41 to close at Rs36.18.
\nForeign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs352.3 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Market watch Benchm\u00adark index decrea\u00adses 1,162.44 points to close at 38,219.67 news desk KARACHI After a day\u2019s respite, bears staged a comeback at the bourse, pulling the KSE-100 index down by over 1,100 points as market participants took cue from the tumbling global markets and pulled out their investments to buy safe assets. World stock […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n