KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange on Monday witnessed mixed trend and after moving in both directions, closed on a negative note due to selling pressure as the investors opted to offload their holdings on concerns over security situation in the country.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index hit 79,160.40 points intraday high and 78,553.87 points intraday low before closing at 78,571.06 points, down 230.37 points or 0.29 percent.
Trading activity remained low as total daily volumes on ready counter declined to 512.337 million shares as compared to 682.409 million shares traded on last Friday while total daily traded value on the ready counter stood at Rs 18.894 billion against previous session’s Rs 18.168 billion.
BRIndex100 lost 14.73 points or 0.18 percent to close at 8,345.72 points with total daily turnover of 411.361 million shares.
BRIndex30 increased by 338 points or 1.29 percent to close at 26,629.90 points with total daily trading volumes of 229.118 million shares.
Foreign investors also remained net sellers of shares worth $1.205 million. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 34 billion to Rs 10.478 trillion. Out of total 433 active scrips, 242 closed in negative and 150 in positive while the value of 41 stocks remained unchanged.
Symmetry Group was the volume leader with 59.366 million shares however lost Rs 0.04 to close at Rs 7.69 followed by Kohinoor Spining that decreased by Rs 0.40 to close at Rs 10.52 with 50.616 million shares. WorldCall Telecom inched down by Rs 0.02 to close at Rs 1.28 with 24.441 million shares.
Hoechst Pakistan and Hallmark Company were the top gainers increasing by Rs 189.64 and Rs 51.70 respectively to close at Rs 2,086.04 and Rs 568.70 while Nestle Pakistan and Abbott Laboratories were the top losers declining by Rs 87.85 and Rs 76.28 respectively to close at Rs 6,887.15 and Rs 723.88.
An analyst at Topline Securities said Pakistan equities kicked off the week with the KSE-100 Index observing some profit taking around 79,000 psychological level and called the day at 78,571 levels (down 230 points or down 0.29 percent).
Investors opted to trim their stock positions near 79,000 level that compelled market to settle below 79,000 levels post an intraday high at 79,160, a gain of 359 points during the day. A relatively lackluster momentum has been witnessed during business hours.
During the day, Power, Pharma and Fertilizer sectors contributed positively where HUBC, GLAXO, HINOON, DAWH and SEARL added 336 points. On the contrary, HBL, UBL and ABOT cumulatively lost 203 points due to some selling interest observed in them.
BR Automobile Assembler Index plunged by 242.21 points or 1.41 percent to close at 16,890.99 points with total turnover of 23.070 million shares.
BR Cement Index decreased by 93.28 points or 1.24 percent to close at 7,406.76 points with 21.997 million shares.
BR Commercial Banks Index declined by 241.46 points or 1.08 percent to close 22,207.54 points with 38.307 million shares.
BR Power Generation and Distribution Index surged by 759.38 points or 4.22 percent to close at 18,771.11 points with 47.469 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index lost 1.33 points or 0.02 percent to close at 7,052.45 points with 31.455 million shares.
BR Tech. & Comm. Index gained 1.58 points or 0.04 percent to close at 4,047.39 points with 106.136 million shares.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed lower amid consolidation near close of earnings season, security unrest and security concerns in Muharram processions. Energy Sector outperformed after strong financial results and payouts announcement by Hubco and surging global crude oil prices.
He said uncertainty over the IMF approval on taxes, IPPs dues restructuring, and power subsidies played a catalytic role in bearish close.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024