BRIndex100 plummets

Pakistan Stock Exchange remained under heavy pressure following controversial statement by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif that led to selling in the market, analysts said. The market participants remained concerned, as they consider potential impact of this statement in upcoming FATF's decision of Pakistan's fate related to its inclusion in grey/black list, they added.
BRIndex100 lost 132.92 points or 2.86 percent to close at 4,518.83 points Monday. BRIndex100 touched intraday high of 4,651.78 and intraday low of 4,511.51 points. Volumes stood at 157.638 million shares.
BRIndex30 decreased by 777.13 points or 3.3 percent to close at 22,561.43 points with a turnover of 105.087 million shares.
The benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 1095.93 points or 2.51 percent to close at 42,498.86 points. Daily trading volumes increased to 176.122 million shares as compared to 164.686 million shares traded Friday.
Foreign investors remained net sellers of shares worth $2.1 million. The market capitalization declined by Rs 210 billion to Rs 8.763 trillion. Out of total 350 active scrips, 305 closed in negative, only 34 in positive while the value of 11 stocks remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with 12.065 million shares. However, it lost Re 0.30 to close at Rs 5.98 followed by 1st Dawood Bank that gained Re 0.08 to close at Rs 4.10 with 8.828 million shares. Gatron Industries and Attock Cement were the top gainers with Rs 12.51 and Rs 3.76, respectively to close at Rs 266.00 and Rs 174.91. Bata Pak and Pak Tobacco were the top losers with Rs 115.93 and Rs 97.50, respectively to close at Rs 2,202.85 and Rs 1,852.50.
BR Commercial Banks Index decreased by 160.71 points or 1.86 percent to close at 8,479.87 points with total turnover of 20.284 million shares.
BR Cement Index declined by 181.89 points or 3.31 percent to close at 5,320.62 points with 18.735 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index plunged by 147.06 percent or 2.68 percent to close at 5,337.48 points with 13.346 million shares.
BR Tech. & Comm. Index lost 36.61 points or 3.21 percent to close at 1,102.19 points with 11.012 million shares.
BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 6,225.30 points, down 142.22 points or 2.23 percent with 12.965 million shares.
An analyst at Topline Securities said that Pakistan equities touched its 88 sessions low on the start of the week over the controversial statement by former prime minister of Pakistan that led to selling in the market. Market participants remained concerned, as they consider potential impact of this statement in upcoming FATF's decision of Pakistan's fate related to its inclusion in Grey/Black List, he said.
"Consequently, pressure was seen in the market, as the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 2.5 percent or 1096 points in a single day," he added.
The market participants in terms of volumes went up by 7 percent, while value surged 16 percent. HBL, Engro, POL, LUCK and OGDC cumulatively withheld 328 points from the index.
"The semi-annual index review of MSCI is scheduled on Monday (May 14), where we expect a status quo as Pakistan's weight in MSCI EM index is expected at 0.08 percent, while in case if PPL is added to MSCI then Pakistan's weight will increase 0.09 percent," he said. Despite OGRA's approval to allow UFG on RLNG as a pass through, SSGC closed at its lower lock.
An analyst at JS Global Capital said that the KSE-100 index splashed red ink everywhere in the trading session, making an intraday low of minus1163 points, while it closed at 42,499 level, down 1,096 points. This selling pressure in the market was on the back of investor skepticism regarding the political scenario in the country following statements by the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over security matters.
In the banking sector, HBL (down 3.28 percent), UBL (down 1.93 percent) and MCB (down 0.67 percent) closed lower. Cement sector too remained under the hammer as LUCK (down 3.10 percent), DGKC (down 5.0 percent), FCCL (down 4.93 percent) and PIOC (down 4.65 percent) lost value to close in the red trajectory. POL (down 4.66 percent), OGDC (down 2.23 percent) and PPL (down 2.23 percent) lost value as crude oil prices edged lower from three-and-a-half-year high in the international market.