Sluggish week witnessed

With foreign investment outflows unabated, the Pakistan stocks witnessed what analysts said a "sluggish" week to have lost 0.6 percent or 204 points to close at 32,877. Daily trade volumes, which on Thursday ebbed to two-month low of 86 million, averaged 32 percent down on 113 million shares.
The value of stocks traded contracted 33 percent to Rs 5.3 billion ($50.6 million), a level last seen in May last year.
The week's major gainers included scrips from industrial metals and mining and beverages, up 3.5 and 2.6 percent. The losers were from automobile and parts and commercial banks shedding value by four and 3.4 percent, respectively.
Foreign investors remained jittery to have sold portfolios worth $2.3 million, on net basis. Most of the outflows, $2.6 million and $2.4 million, were seen in oil and gas exploration and chemicals sectors. Backed by mega infra projects like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the cement issues were able to attract $2.8 million inflows during the week that ended on March 25.
"Activity remained dull at the local bourse throughout the week due to lack of any triggers," viewed analysts at Topline Research. They said investors cherry-picked stocks in automobile stocks, driven by announcement of Auto Policy 2015; cement stocks, in anticipation of better sales going forward; and oil stocks, owing to volatile global oil prices.
Market observers at Arif Habib Limited Research observed that the bourse reversed gains after four consecutive weeks.
"While several overseas markets remained downcast, MSCI Pakistan, EM and FM index closed down 1.7 percent, 1.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively," they said. This, analysts said, was amid the FED confessing to a possible rate hike in April (USD making weekly gains and mounting US crude piles intensifying the global oil glut.
"Meanwhile, with the publication of the long-awaited Automotive Development Policy indicating greater tariff benefits for potential new entrants resulted in hesitant investors dragging down INDU and PSMC; although, it may take some time for competition to threat the existing auto giants," they added.
Albeit, not all was gloomy, with an additional 15 percent regulatory duty imposed on finished iron and steel products, the sector garnered some investor interest across the board. "Foreign activity remained sluggish," they said.
With State Bank of Pakistan expected to unveil the upcoming monetary policy next week, the analysts expect the same to be a "non-event" for the market. However, they said, banking sector might exhibit some exuberance. "Key risks to the index performance remains foreign outflows, unpredictable commodity prices and sudden PKR depreciation against USD," AHL analyst said.