KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday witnessed a highly volatile session and after moving in both directions, closed in deep red with heavy losses due to rollover and year-end selling pressure.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index plunged by 1,509.61 points or 1.33 percent and closed at 112,414.81 points. The index hit 115,036.50 points intraday high and 112,294.42 points intraday low levels.
The daily volumes on ready counter increased to 880.598 million shares as compared to 857.834 million shares traded on Monday. The vdaily traded value on the ready counter increased to Rs 54.455 billion against previous session’s Rs 50.549 billion.
BRIndex100 decreased by 150.01 points or 1.22 percent to close at 12,096.48 points with total daily turnover of 773.416 million shares.
BRIndex30 declined by 670.41 points or 1.75 percent to close at 37,714.97 points with total daily trading volumes of 497.668 million shares.
Foreign investors also remained on the selling side and withdrew $2.222 million from the local equity market. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 194 billion to stand at Rs 14.251 trillion. Out of total 456 active scrips, 288 closed in negative and 129 in positive while the value of 39 stocks remained unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 127.408 million shares and inched up by Rs 0.06 to close at Rs 1.78 followed by Fauji Foods that gained Rs 0.46 to close at Rs 14.95 with 67.135 million shares. SSGC lost Rs 0.39 to close at Rs 46.09 with 33.559 million shares.
Hoechst Pakistan and Shahmurad Sugar Mills were the top gainers increasing by Rs 100.00 and Rs 31.29 respectively to close at Rs 2,850.00 and Rs 474.96 while Unilever Pakistan Foods and Nestle Pakistan were the top losers declining by Rs 99.99 and Rs 97.35 respectively to close at Rs 21,000.01 and Rs 7,232.00.
An analyst at Topline Securities said that the KSE-100 Index exhibited significant volatility, oscillating between highs and lows as market sentiment remained uncertain. The index climbed to an intraday high of plus 1112 points early in the session, reflecting some optimism, but later tumbled to an intraday low of minus 1629 points due to profit-taking and bearish sentiment.
The market’s downturn was primarily driven by concerns over rising leverage positions, which heightened risk perceptions. This, combined with increasing borrowing costs, compelled investors to trim their portfolios. Furthermore, the approaching last few days of December contract added additional pressure on market participants, resulting in cautious and selective trading behavior.
The primary contributors to the upward movement were UBL, DAWH, SNGP, TRG, and APL, which collectively added an impressive 351 points to the index. On the flip side, FFC, MARI, MCB, HUBC, and ENGRO emerged as the major laggards of the day, collectively dragging the index down by 850 points.
BR Automobile Assembler Index decreased by 127.71 points or 0.61 percent to close at 20,773.31 points with total turnover of 10.280 million shares.
BR Cement Index declined by 248.79 points or 2.21 percent to close at 10,986.69 points with 43.025 million shares.
BR Commercial Banks Index fell by 189.92 points or 0.68 percent to close at 27,919.42 points with 37.720 million shares.
BR Power Generation and Distribution Index plunged by 501.26 points or 2.65 percent to close at 18,439.81 points with 51.748 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index eroded 172.96 points or 1.33 percent to close at 12,873.18 points with 145.562 million shares.
BR Tech. & Comm. Index lost 51.15 points or 0.9 percent to close at 5,649.31 points with 202.673 million shares.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said profit-taking witnessed at PSX amid pressure on future contracts rollover and uncertainty over outcome of government-PTI patch-up talks.
He said weak rupee, falling global crude oil prices and institutional selling in overbought scrips played a catalytic role in bearish activity.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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