KSE-100 index loses 770.54 points, settles at 47,447.95
\nKARACHI
\nThe Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday dived into the red zone as the KSE-100 index was marked by collective pessimism over the latest round of rupee depreciation coupled with disclosure of President\u2019s statement regarding refusal to sign the Pakistan Army and Official Secrets Bills law.
\nThe market began on a positive note touching an intra-day high of 48,234.25 points but soon the bourse began its downward trajectory.
\nThe benchmark index, after midday, succumbed to selling pressure owing to lack of positive triggers which kept investors cautious throughout the trading session.
\nThe fresh depreciation prompted bearish sentiment. Furthermore, investors\u2019 concerns for dismal data of $809 million current account deficit, weak earnings outlook and speculations of further hikes in industrial power tariff kept the market under pressure.
\nAnnouncement of the Refinery Policy defeated investor incentives as they were lower than expectations.
\nIn addition, profit-taking in other sectors prevented the index from staying in the green and the KSE-100 index was unable to maintain its 48,000- point mark and touched an intra-day low of 47,432.71 points during final hour to close the day in red.
\n\u201cStocks fell across the board amid uncertainty over outcome of President alarming disclosure on refuting to signing of the Pakistan Army and Official Secrets Bills laws approved.\u201d\u201d said Arif Habib Commodities CEO Ahsan Mehanti.
\n\u201cSlump in rupee, investor concerns for dismal data of $809m current account deficit in Jul\u201923 and weak earnings outlook amid expected further hike in power tariff and POL prices played a catalyst role in bearish close.\u201d
\nAt close, the benchmark KSE-100 index registered a decrease of 770.54 points, or 1.6%, and settled at 47,447.95.
\nTopline Securities in its report, stated that Monday was \u201ca day full of pessimism.\u201d
\nPakistan Equities commenced the week with a modestly positive opening only to succumb to a rapid selling spree shortly after the market opened, it said adding that unfavourable factors weighed heavily throughout the day.
\nThe Current Account, which had shown a surplus for four consecutive months, faced a deficit of $0.8 billion. Concurrently, there was a consistent decline in the value of the Pakistani Rupee against US Dollar, with the day\u2019s closing rate in inter-bank trading at 297.13, reflecting a further 0.45% decrease.
\nThe announcement of the Refinery Policy came with incentives that were lower than expected by investors, and there has been no update thus far regarding the Circular Debt Management Plan.
\nThese factors are likely contributors to the bearish trend observed, Topline added.
\nArif Habib Limited (AHL) stated that the 46-47k support zone is now within touching distance following a weak Monday session.
\n\u201cThe main contributors to the declines were United Bank (-3.57%), Oil and Gas Development Company (-2.87%), and Habib Bank (-2.66%),\u201d it said, adding that in the FTSE Rebal, Pakistan Petroleum has been moved from Mid to Small Cap, MCB Bank has been moved from Small Cap to Micro, and Meezan Bank has been added to Micro Cap with an effective date of September 15.
\nJS Global analyst Muhammed Waqar Iqbal commented that the bourse remained under pressure throughout the day due to a lack of positive triggers.
\nProfit-taking was witnessed across the board, he added.
\n\u201cGoing forward, we recommend investors to avail any downside as an opportunity to buy in the Construction and Export-oriented sectors,\u201d the analyst said.
\nOverall trading volumes decreased to 211.23 million shares compared with Friday\u2019s tally of 254.8 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.07 billion.
\nShares of 323 companies were traded. At close, 50 stocks closed higher, 253 declined and 20 remained unchanged.
\nWorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with trading in 51.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.02 to close at Rs1.27. It was followed by K-Electric with 8.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.05 to close at Rs2.23 and Oil and Gas Development Company with 7.3 million shares, losing Rs2.85 to close at Rs96.44.
\nForeign investors were net buyers of Rs388.9 million worth of shares, according to the NCCPL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KSE-100 index loses 770.54 points, settles at 47,447.95 KARACHI The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday dived into the red zone as the KSE-100 index was marked by collective pessimism over the latest round of rupee depreciation coupled with disclosure of President\u2019s statement regarding refusal to sign the Pakistan Army and Official Secrets Bills law. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230615,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2548],"class_list":{"0":"post-350798","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-stocks"},"yoast_head":"\n