KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Monday closed lower on profit-taking. Investors took a cautious stance ahead of the virtual FATF plenary session. BRIndex100 declined by 26.88 points or 0.54 percent to close at 4,947.94 points compared to 4,974.82 points on Friday. BRIndex100 touched an intraday high of 5,003.44 points and an intraday low of 4,932.39 points. Total volume was 650.06 million shares and Hum Network was the most traded company in BRIndex100 with a volume of 114.347 million.
BRIndex30 opened at 25,790.43 points. It touched an intraday high of 26,024.34 points and an intraday low of 25,764.96 points and finally closed at 25,864.37 points, which was 73.94 points or 0.29 percent higher than previous close. Total volume at BRIndex30 was 450.647 million shares.
The benchmark KSE100 Index closed at 45,890 points against 46,228 points on Friday, showing a decline of 338 points. However, share trading volumes on ready counter surged to 7.22 million shares up from 694 million on Friday.
Analysts said that Pakistan Equities witnessed profit taking as investors took a cautious stance owing to the virtual FATF plenary session and the futures roll-over week, both which start from Monday.
The market capitalization decreased by Rs 54 billion to Rs 8.262 trillion. Out of total 414 active scrips, 162 closed in positive and 230 in negative while the value of 22 stocks remained unchanged.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp said stocks closed bearish amid pressure in the futures contracts rollover week and uncertainty over FATF meeting decision on Pakistan exit from grey list. Fertilizer and banking sector outperformed on surge in local fertilizer prices and strong banking financials, he mentioned.
Investor concerns over likely Rs700 billion additional taxes in reinstated IMF program, dismal FDI data and political noise played a catalyst role for bearish close, he added.
On Monday, top volume leaders of the bourse were Hum Network (6.8%), BYCO (6.5%) and TRG (7.1%) cumulatively contributing 270 million shares to the total volume. Hum Network was the volume leader with 114.347 million shares and closed at Rs 8.13 followed by Byco Petroleum that closed at Rs 10.97 with 109 million shares. TRG Pak Ltd ranked third with 46.409 million shares and closed at 146.59. Bhanero Tex and Hinopak Motors were the top gainers increasing by Rs 33.33 and Rs 21.65 respectively to close at Rs 930.00 and Rs 372.20 respectively. Rafhan Maize and Nestle Pakistan were the top losers declining by Rs 388.00 and Rs 79.94 respectively to close at Rs 9,712.00 and Rs 6,120.06. BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 9,025.21 points with a net positive change of 4.81 points or a percentage change of 0.05 and a total turnover of 8.84 million. With a net declined of 47.21 points or a percentage change of -0.64, BR Cement Index closed at 7,357.01 points and a total turnover of 59.884 points.
BR Commercial Banks Index lost 194.19 points to close at 8,588.66 points with a total turnover of 45.054 million. BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 5,658.17 points, declined 39.53 points or 0.69 percent with a total turnover of 19.544 million.
BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 4,185.78 points with a net negative change of -56.88 points or a percentage change of -1.34 and a total turnover of 29.469 million. BR Tech. & Comm. Index gained 138.28 to close at 3,816.04 and overall turnover was 247.825 million shares.
Banking sector witnessed selling pressure where UBL (-4.1%), HBL (-3.5%), BAFL (-3.3%), BOP (-2.0%) and FABL (-2.3%) lost value. Similar sentiments were seen in the cement sector where KOHC (-3.1%), CHCC (-2.3%), FCCL (-1.1%), DGKC (1.1%) and PIOC (-0.4%) closed lower than their previous day close. Technology sector however remained positive as TRG (7.1%), NETSOL (3.1%), HUMNL (6.8%) and MDTL (36%) all closed in the green trajectory.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021