PSX hit by selling pressure

Pakistan Stock Exchange remained under selling pressure during the outgoing week ended May 21, 2020 as investors opted to book profits on available margins before long Eid holidays.
BRIndex100 lost 35.77 points on week-on-week basis to close at 3,468.01 points. Average daily volumes stood at 172.790 million shares.
BRIndex30 decreased by 35.26 points to close at 18,281.67 points with average daily turnover of 119.156 million shares.
KSE-100 index declined by 171.72 points on week-on-week basis and closed at 33,836.61 points. Average daily trading volumes slightly decreased by 6.2 percent to 205.52 million shares as compared to previous week's average of 219.10 million shares. Average daily trading value increased by 17.9 percent to Rs 7.62 billion. Total market capitalization increased by Rs 42 billion to Rs 6.471 trillion. "Additional monetary stimulus from the central bank ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr holidays set out a perfect opportunity for the investor to undertake some profit-taking, driving market lower by 0.5 percent on week-on-week basis", an analyst at AKD Securities said. Cyclical which gained in the expectation of rate cut became the obvious causality, as investors resorted to profit-taking, with Steel and Cements losing 3.8 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Recovering international oil prices extended support to E&Ps at home, with sector gaining 2.4 percent.
Amongst the main board, top gainers during the week were ICI (up 22.2 percent), IDYM (up 13.8 percent), JDWS (up 13.2 percent), EFUG (up 12.5 percent) and HCAR (up 11.3 percent), while SHEL (down 10.6 percent), CHCC (down 8.9 percent), JLICL (down 7.3 percent), MEBL (down 6.8 percent) and BoP (down 6.5 percent) were the major laggards.
An analyst at JS Global Capital said that the four-day trading week saw Pakistan equities decline 0.5 percent on week-on-week basis as the KSE-100 index closed at 33,836 levels.
The foreigners remained net sellers of $8.7 million with selling seen mostly in Oil & Gas marketing, Banks and Fertilizer sectors. On the local front individuals were the largest buyers by a margin.