Karachi stock market closed lower on one-day trading week due to Eid holidays ended on July 28, 2014. Due to political uncertainty, the share market closed bearish and the benchmark KSE-100 index dipped by 160.68 points to close at 30,314.07 points compared to 30,474.75 a week earlier.
Yawar-uz-Zaman, head of Capital Market at Aba Ali Habib Securities, said that the local bourse witnessed a selling pressure in the market. Lafarge buyout deal sparked fears of price arrangement among investors.
The benchmark KSE-100 index showed a negative trend, trimmed by 160 points. However, due to long weekend, investors were reluctant to take investments, she added. Average daily value decreased by 41 per cent to Rs 5.292 billion during the outgoing week compared to Rs 8.998 billion a week earlier. Average daily volume also declined by 40 per cent to Rs 103.619 million shares against Rs 172.763 million shares during the previous week. During the last week, the market capitalisation fell by Rs 33 billion to Rs 7.120 trillion up from Rs 7.153 trillion.
Ovais Ahsan, an analyst at JS Global, said that the market stayed on a negative note as participants remained cautious ahead of the elongated Eid weekend.
The government decision to call the army in Islamabad ahead of a major protest rally planned for the 14th of August also hampered sentiment with a wide array of conspiracy theories doing the rounds in the press. Major lagging movers of the day were Lucky Cement down by 2.6 per cent, the OGDC dipped by 0.6 per cent and Fauji Fertilizer fell by 1.4 per cent, he added.
The euphoria over Bestway Group's acquisition of Lafarge Cement down by 4.7 per cent faded quickly as the take-over price was lower than what market participants initially calculated. Politics will continue to be a key variable after the market reopens post Eid holidays with the August 14th March taking centre stage, Ahsan mentioned.
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