KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday witnessed highly volatile session and the index after moving in both directions finally closed in negative zone as the investors opted to book profit on available margins.

The benchmark KSE-100 index declined by 1,308.72 points or 1.13 percent and closed at 114,860.69 points. During the session, the index crossed 117,000 historic level for the first time in its history to hit 117,039.18 points intra-day highest ever level, however failed to sustain this level and dropped in deep red to hit 113,688.55 points intra-day low level.

Trading activities remained low as total daily volumes on ready counter decreased to 1,252.980 million shares as compared to 1,470.661 million shares traded on Monday while total daily traded value on the ready counter declined to Rs 62.722 billion against previous session’s Rs 66.628 billion.

BRIndex100 lost 48.02 points or 0.39 percent to close at 12,298.95 points with total daily turnover of 1,056.796 million shares.

BRIndex30 decreased by 222.56 points or 0.57 percent to close at 38,877.44 points with total daily trading volumes of 742.552 million shares.

The foreign investors also remained on the selling side and withdrew $1.822 million from the local equity market. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 228 billion to stand at Rs 14.583 trillion. Out of total 470 active scrips, 297 closed in negative and 134 in positive while the value of 39 stocks remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 151.921 million shares however lost Re 0.04 to close at Rs 1.88 followed by Pak Elektron that increased by Rs 2.99 to close at Rs 38.11 with 107.502 million shares. Cnergyico PK closed at Rs 7.08, down Re 0.04 with 58.285 million shares.

Unilever Pakistan Foods and Philip Morris Pakistan were the top gainers increasing by Rs 180.02 and Rs 29.78 respectively to close at Rs 21,000.02 and Rs 789.88 while Mari Petroleum Company and Nestle Pakistan were the top losers declining by Rs 89.97 and Rs 74.88 respectively to close at Rs 809.76 and Rs 7,511.48.

An analyst at Topline Securities said that the market witnessed extreme volatility throughout the day as investors digested the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) latest decision. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced its fifth consecutive rate cut, reducing the policy rate by 200 basis points to 13 percent.

The benchmark index experienced significant swings, reaching an intraday high of plus 869 points before plunging to an intraday low of minus 2,480 points.

Profit-taking gained momentum in the latter half of the session, amplifying volatility and further pressuring the market downward. The downward trajectory was primarily driven by MARI, FFC, LUCK, OGDC, and PPL, which collectively contributed a staggering 1,696 points to the index’s decline.

BR Automobile Assembler Index decreased by 280.68 points or 1.35 percent to close at 20,548.09 points with total turnover of 9.124 million shares.

BR Cement Index declined by 502.22 points or 4.19 percent to close at 11,471.21 points with 70.572 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index surged by 956.02 points or 3.48 percent to close at 28,440.60 points with 107.008 million shares.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index increased by 875.42 points or 4.68 percent to close at 19,566.13 points with 70.131 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index plunged by 604.08 points or 4.4 percent to close at 13,138.93 points with 118.111 million shares.

BR Tech & Comm Index fell by 71.54 points or 1.26 percent to close at 5,605.56 points with 234.467 million shares.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed bearish amid cautious SBP policy easing on multiple risks, static core inflation near 9.7 percent and dismal data for LSM growth at negative 0.64 percent for July-October 2024.

He said consolidation amid concerns for Government tax collections shortfall, weak global crude oil prices and unresolved slippages in IMF targets under EFF played a catalyst role in bearish activity.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024