BRIndex100 stays bearish

A bearish trend continued on Pakistan Stock Exchange due to selling in various sectors. BRIndex100 lost another 22.42 points or 0.46 percent to close at 4,884.06 points Thursday. BRIndex100 touched intraday high of 4,909.33 and intraday low of 4,847.51 points. Volumes stood at 150.098 million shares.
BRIndex30 decreased by 194.49 points or 0.78 percent to close at 24,750.90 points with a turnover of 105.958 million shares. The benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 90.86 points to 45,387.77 points. Daily trading volumes increased to 183.362 million shares as compared to 156.038 million shares traded Wednesday.
Foreign investors remained net sellers of shares worth $0.3 million. The market capitalization declined by Rs 4 billion to Rs 9.325 trillion. Out of total 382 active scrips, 262 closed in negative, only 100 in positive while the value of 20 stocks remained unchanged.
Engro Polymer was the volume leader with 15.208 million shares. However, the scrip lost Re 0.43 to close at Rs 38.45 followed by Bank of Punjab that gained Re 0.23 to close at Rs 9.77 with 13.632 million shares. Pak Tobacco and Bata Pak were the top gainers with Rs 95.00 and Rs 60.00, respectively to close at Rs 2,045.00 and Rs 2,810.00. Shezan International and Indus Dyeing were the top losers with Rs 27.80 and Rs 23.52, respectively to close at Rs 528.60 and Rs 447.09.
BR Commercial Banks Index lost 9.44 points or 0.1 percent to close at 9,167.01 points with a turnover of 26.207 million shares. BR Cement Index declined by 122.71 points or 2.02 percent to close at 5,942.12 points with 23.066 million shares. BR Oil and Gas Index gained 24.46 points or 0.45 percent to close at 5,453.88 points with 7.851 million shares.
BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 1,199.68 points, down 22.89 points or 1.87 percent with 8.544 million shares. BR Power Generation and Distribution Index decreased by 44.45 points or 0.65 percent to close at 6,809.54 points with 14.017 million shares. Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said that stocks closed lower amid pressure in scrips across the board on investor worries over rising fiscal and current account deficits.
Rising global crude oil prices and banking spreads invited mid-session support in oil and banking scrips. He said pre-budget uncertainty, dismal financial results, rupee depreciation and concerns for pending circular debt played a catalytic role in bearish close.