Pakistan Stock Exchange Tuesday witnessed a mixed trend. The benchmark KSE-100 index oscillating between 50,313.40 points intra-day high and 49,919.40 points intra-day low level, settled at 50,144.63, with an increase of 23.70 points. Buying in select stocks at the fag end supported the index to close in green.
Foreign investors remained net sellers of shares worth $3.9 million. Trading activity also remained this as daily trading volumes on the ready counter decreased to 231.737 million shares as compared to 255.144 million shares traded Monday. The market capitalisation declined by Rs 26 billion to Rs 9.938 trillion. Out of total 365 active scrips, 197 closed in negative, 149 in positive while the value of 19 stocks remained unchanged.
Engro Polymer was the volume leader with 15.990 million shares. It increased by Rs 1.64 to close at Rs 34.56 followed by Dost Steels that lost Rs 0.07 to close at Rs 14.02 with 15.958 million shares. Power Cement (R) decreased by Rs 0.10 to close at Rs 2.22 with 14.668 million shares.
Wyeth Pak and Hinopak Motor were the top gainers with Rs 83.20 and Rs 77.37, respectively to close at Rs 2,316.70 and Rs 1,629.37. Island Textile and Pak Tobacco were the top losers with Rs 44.71 and Rs 29.17, respectively to close at Rs 850.94 and Rs 1,543.33. Arhum Ghous at JS Global Capital said that the market witnessed a volatile session today with KSE-100 index making an intraday high of 190 points and an intraday low of 201 points, to close 24 points up at 50,144. International oil prices slipped as Saudi Arabia and other Arab states cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. This was reflected in oil stocks, where OGDC and POL closed 1.43 percent and 1.62 percent down, respectively. On the other hand, cement sector maintained its positive momentum on the back of rumors of prices increase in cement bags. LUCK (up 1.43 percent), DGKC (up 1.57 percent), MLCF (up 3.11 percent) and FCCL (up 1.75 percent) from the aforementioned sector made positive contributions to the index.
An analyst at Topline Securities said that activity at the bourse remained rangebound, volatility eased as '100 index traded within a narrow 0.8 percent/391 points channel. The market clocked an intra-day high/low of 50,311/49,920 points and eventually settled at 51,145 points. The lackluster session may indicate investor's indecisiveness regarding the sustainability of the recent reversal. Top index point contributors were HBL (up 1.5 percent), LUCK (up 1.4 percent), BAHL (up 2.3 percent), DGKC (up 1.6 percent) and MLCF (up 3.1 percent), adding 140 points; conversely OGDC (down 1.4 percent), SNGP (down 2.9 percent), HUBC (down 1.1 percent), POL (down 1.6 percent) and SEARL (down 1.8 percent), withheld 113 points. On the sector front, Cement added 86 points, followed by Banks (68 points) and Auto' Assembler (32 points), while OMC's shed 37 points, E&P's 33 points and Power 29 points. Engro Polymer (EPCL) hit its upper circuit for a consecutive session, following news report suggesting 2 percent regulatory duty on PVC.