The law and order situation in northern parts of the country created panic selling at the local share market as the KSE-100 index lost 257.20 points to close at 13,945.03 points' level on Monday. The KSE-30 index declined by 349.89 points to close at 16,812.56 points' level.
The market started in negative zone. At one time when the bears were gradually strengthening their positions, the KSE-100 index reached 13,871.08 points intra-day low levels. However, some recovery was witnessed at the end of the session as the index closed well above its intra-day low level.
Trading activity was dull as ready market volume declined by 39 percent to 321.671 million shares as compared to 524.609 million shares traded on Friday. The futures market turnover also decreased to 73.203 million shares against 88.105 million shares previously.
The overall market capitalisation also declined by Rs 86 billion to Rs 4.117 trillion. Trading took place in 402 scrips, out of which 302 scrips closed, in negative column and only 74 scrips closed in positive column, while the value of 26 scrips remained unchanged.
Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim was the star performer of the day with 35.669 million shares and the scrip surged by Rs 0.90 to close at Rs 46.10. Engro Chemical performed well and the scrip gained Rs 6.20 to close at Rs 269.75 with a total volume of 11.026 million shares. OGDC was the second volume leader with 27.342 million shares, but the scrip lost Rs 1.25 to close at Rs 123.10.
TRG declined by Rs 0.90 to close at Rs 15.75. WorldCall Telecom lost 0.90 to close at Rs 19.40. Telecard closed at Rs 13.90, down by Rs 0.45. Pak PTA Limited declined by Rs 0.55 to close at Rs 6.20. Dewan Salman lost Rs 0.20 to close at Rs 12.05. Bosicor Pakistan declined by Rs 1.05 to close at Rs 20.65. Sui Southern Gas decreased by Rs 0.60 to close at Rs 30.20.
Siemens and Treet Corp were the highest gainers with Rs 20 and Rs 16 gains to close at Rs 1650 and Rs 347 respectively, while Rafhan Maize and Nestle Pakistan were the highest losers, which lost Rs 50 and Rs 38 to close at Rs 2,250 and Rs 1,510 respectively.
Ahsan Mehanti at Shehzad Chamdia Securities said that the law and order situation in northern part of the country created uncertainty among the investors, who opted for offloading their holdings. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan's queries regarding over 100 percent increase in some scrips in a short period of time was another reason which created uncertainty.
The foreign investors also opted for profit taking on available margins and they offloaded their holdings mainly back sector stocks. The allocation of CFS on the basis of free float was another reason, which kept the investors cautious and they avoided to take fresh positions.
Kamran Naqvi, head of Equity Trade at Atlas Capital Markets, said that the investors' cautious approach towards fresh positions in the market was evident when market opened in negative zone on the back of worsening security situation in northern parts of the country.
Except fertiliser, all sectors remained under pressure throughout the day despite a letter written by an official of the Ministry of Finance, questioning the downward revision of Pakistan's economic outlook from positive to stable by S&P. Almost the 257 points decline, the fertiliser sector remained positive, mainly due to higher DAP prices.