Political uncertainty created by the Panama Leaks in the country adversely reflected on the sentiments-driven stocks market. Benchmark KSE-100 Index during the week that ended on April 15 slumped 0.6 percent to close at 33,767 points level.
"The KSE-100 Index ended the week down as political uncertainty edged up a notch in the aftermath of the Panama Leaks," viewed Faizan Ahmed of the JS Research.
He said the ongoing results season also induced some ripples into the market with Pakistan Oilfields surprising investors and analysts alike with above consensus 3QFY16 earning per share of Rs 9.17.
Analysts at Topline Research also attributed the week's negative trend to political noise which, they said, kept gains in check amid profit-taking and range bound activity at the local bourse.
"The central bank maintained status quo in interest rates, which added bearish sentiment to the market," they opined.
Consequently, both the traded volume and value dropped respectively by 31 and 18 percent week-on-week (WoW). The number of stocks daily traded averaged on 190 million shares, their value standing at Rs8.7 billion or $82.3 million.
Sector-wise, the household goods topped the gainers list and rose 11.4 percent over last week. Other gainers were personal goods and oil and gas, up 1.4 and 1.0 percent. Tobacco and fixed line telecommunication shed the most 14.6 and 8.9 percent in value.
Foreign investors, having sold net portfolios of $1.5 million, ended the week in red. Banking stocks bore major $7.4 million outflows while cements were able to lure $3.9 million investment.
"Cements and power (scrips) closed in the red zone mainly on account of general profit-taking observed during the week whereas oil and gas sector recovered by 1 percent WoW on the back of recovery in international crude oil prices, providing some respite to the overall index level," said Ahmed.
Other major highlights of the week included monthly auto sale numbers rising by 11 percent in March-16, government approving the conversion of PIA into a public limited company, lifting of ban by Saudi Arabia on export of cement and ECC granting 18 additional months' extension to refineries for upgrading their existing facilities.
Going forward, Ahmed said a number of major results were expected next week which could contribute in restoring the market's vigour.