KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange Thursday witnessed a bearish trend due to selling pressure on investor concerns over prevailing political and economic situation in the country.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index declined by 391.58 points or 0.94 percent and closed at 41,442.08 points. The index hit 41,964.27 points intraday high and 41,411.64 points intraday low.
Trading activity also remained low as daily volumes on ready counter decreased to 101.318 million shares as compared to 125.528 million shares traded Wednesday. Daily traded value on ready counter declined to Rs 3.000 billion against previous session’s Rs 3.540 billion.
BRIndex100 decreased by 53.02 points or 1.25 percent to close at 4,173.51 points with total daily turnover of 87.854 million shares. BRIndex30 plunged by 201.8 points or 1.39 percent to close at 14,336.61 points with 63.971 million shares.
Foreign investors also remained net sellers of shares worth $85,839. The market capitalization declined by Rs 27 billion to Rs 6.217 trillion. Out of total 306 active scrips, 205 closed in negative and only 82 in positive while the value of 19 stocks remained unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 9.891 million shares and closed at Rs 1.12, down Rs 0.01 followed by Pak Refinery that gained Rs 0.17 to close at Rs 13.96 with 7.526 million shares. Cnergyico PK inched up by Rs 0.01 to close at Rs 3.43 with 6.661 million shares.
Nestle Pakistan and Sapphire Fiber were the top gainers increasing by Rs 300.00 and Rs 58.92 respectively to close at Rs 6250.00 and Rs 1131.00 while Bata Pak and Indus Motor Co were the top losers declining by Rs 50.00 and Rs 13.75 respectively to close at Rs 1625.00 and Rs 930.11.
“A negative session was recorded at the PSX,” an analyst at Arif Habib Limited said. The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened in the green, but momentum quickly turned as the index swayed both ways and concluded in the deep red after recording an intraday low of negative 422.02 points as political instability prevailed surrounding the former Prime Minister’s imminent court hearings. Investor participation was varied, with moderate volumes recorded across the board, with third-tier equities leading the volume board.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Commercial Banks (down 128.1 points), Technology & Communication (down 94.4 points), Fertilizer (down 56.1 points), E&P (down 45.1 points) and Power Generation & Distribution (down 27.6 points).
BR Automobile Assembler Index fell by 56.29 points or 0.75 percent to close at 7,497.71 points with 1.545 million shares.
BR Cement Index lost 23.81 points or 0.56 percent to close at 4,261.59 points with 10.486 million shares.
BR Commercial Banks Index declined by 123.01 points or 1.39 percent to close at 8,749.54 points with 5.710 million shares.
BR Power Generation and Distribution Index decreased by 65.26 points or 0.87 percent to close at 7,414.46 points with 5.756 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index inched down by 35.68 points or 0.93 percent to close at 3,785.45 points with 14.403 million shares. BR Tech. & Comm. Index plunged by 93.19 points or 2.42 percent to close at 3,758.60 points with 22.853 million shares.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said that stocks closed lower amid slump in Pak Rupee and uncertainty over the IMF bailout agreement.
He said weak global stocks, concerns for surging energy sector circular debt and investor concerns for political uncertainty played a catalyst role in bearish close.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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