BRIndex100 weakens

Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a mixed trend as investors adopted cautious approach due to concerns over the prevailing political situation. BRIndex100 lost 6.12 points or 0.14 percent to close at 4,328.99 points Wednesday. BRIndex100 touched intraday high of 4,352.81 and intraday low of 4,318.54 points. Volumes stood at 144.900 million shares. BRIndex30 increased by 203.1 points or 0.96 percent to 21,405.97 points with a turnover of 124.767 million shares.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 43.05 points to close at 40,591.88 points. Daily trading volumes increased to 156.986 million shares as compared to 101.799 million shares traded Tuesday. Foreign investors remained net sellers of shares worth $2.9 million. The market capitalization increased by Rs 42 billion to Rs 8.441 trillion. Out of total 362 active scrips, 180 closed in positive, 166 in negative while the value of 16 stocks remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with 77.159 million shares. It gained Re 0.54 to close at Rs 5.88 followed by WorldCall Telecom that inched up by Rs 0.14 to close at Rs 3.04 with 8.315 million shares. Unilever Foods and Pak Tobacco were the top gainers with Rs 100.00 and Rs 75.93, respectively to close at Rs 6,900.00 and Rs 1,594.62. Sapphire Fiber and Honda Atlas Cars were the top losers with Rs 41.75 and Rs 22.63, respectively to close at Rs 793.25 and Rs 559.54.BR Commercial Banks Index lost 41.33 points or 0.53 percent to close at 7,715.74 points with total turnover of 4.271 million shares.
BR Cement Index gained 17.15 points or 0.34 percent to close at 5,102.68 points with total volume of 5.605 million shares. BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 5,154.05 points, up 22.32 points or 0.43 percent with 10.524 million shares. BR Tech. & Comm. Index inched up by 8.67 points or 0.74 percent to close at 1,185.06 points with 15.889 million shares.
BR Power Generation and Distribution Index increased by 164.8 points or 2.66 percent to close at 6,357.53 points with 80.382 million shares. Danish Ladhani at JS Global Capital said that another weak trading session was witnessed at the local bourse where the KSE-100 index closed on a flat note at 40,592 levels, up 43 points. Such bearish sentiments at the bourse can be attributed to ongoing political developments in the country. Strong volumes in KEL were witnessed as investor confidence on the company increased on the back of possibility of Shanghai Electric to take over K-Electric soon. Moreover, E&P sector slightly inched above previous day's levels with PPL (up 0.46 percent), OGDC (up 0.57 percent) and POL (up 0.21 percent) closing in green.