Pakistan Stock Exchange remained under pressure during the outgoing week ended on March 9, 2018 due to selling in various sectors. BRIndex100 lost 95.9 points on week-on-week basis to close at 4,617.75 points. Average daily trading volumes stood at 119.280 million shares. BRIndex30 decreased by 667.92 points to close at 23,834.63 points with average daily turnover of 83.168 million shares.
Pakistan''s benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 729.22 points on week-on-week basis and closed at 43,011.27 points. Trading activities also remained thin as average daily volumes on ready counter decreased by 16.1 percent to 152.05 million shares as compared to previous week''s average of 181.15 million shares. Average daily trading volumes declined by 18.9 percent to Rs 6.67 billion.
The foreign investors remained net sellers of shares worth $3.87 million as compared to an outflow of $11.38 million in the previous week. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 121 billion to Rs 8.989 trillion.
An analyst at AKD Securities said political uncertainty including ongoing accountability court''s proceedings in the trial against the Sharif family and developments surrounding Senate Chairman Election continued to take a toll on market performance. Moreover, international lenders (namely IMF and Standard Chartered Bank) raising concerns over macroeconomic stability have further dampened the market sentiments, with benchmark KSE-100 index losing 1.67 percent to close the week at 43,011 points.
Performance wise, CHCC (up 6.84 percent), EFOODS (up 5.53 percent), FFC (up 5.25 percent) and HASCOL (up 4.58 percent) were major gainers in the AKD Universe, while laggards included BAFL (down 3.22 percent), ASTL (down 1.89 percent) and PSMC (down 0.01 percent).
An analyst at JS Global Capital said downward trajectory was triggered by ongoing political noise and various National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiries against mainstream political faces and listed companies. Provisional results of Senate elections, held over the weekend, remained in-line with market expectations.
On sector performance, Oil and Gas Exploration declined by 0.8 percent as international crude oil prices witnessed negative trend during the week. However, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (PPL) announced a discovery at Adhi South X-1 that was notified during the last trading session of the week, which will result in nominal earnings contribution for the company, along with Oil and Gas Distribution Company (OGDC) and Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (POL). Cement sector declined by 1.9 percent, despite its second price increase according to industry sources, taking total increase to Rs 20/bag. In addition, cement dispatches for February 2018 were also released during the week that showed 10 percent growth during the month, taking eight months of FY18 growth to 14 percent. On the global front, Trump''s announcement of tariff imposition on Steel imports to the US partially levitated investors'' concerns over impact of the development on local companies. Engineering sector declined by 2.4 percent, while Autos inched up by 0.1 percent. Furthermore, trading of AGP Pharma (AGP) began during the week where the stock rallied by 18 percent from its strike price of Rs 80.
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