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KARACHI:
The Pakistan Stock Exchange was battered Monday by the deteriorating macroeconomic outlook and the benchmark KSE-100 plunged 648 points to close below 44,000 points.
The possibility of another hike in electricity tariffs to pave the way for the resumption of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $ 6 billion loan program has shaken investor interest and triggered a widespread sell-off.
Concerns over rising food and commodity prices, coupled with the sale of shares by foreign investors, further supported the market decline.
Investor pessimism sparked profit taking in the high index fertilizer, cement and oil and gas marketing sectors, which closed in the red.
Previously, trading had started with minor highs and lows, but shortly thereafter the KSE-100 index fell under bear control and remained in the negative zone for the rest of the day.
Although market participants made a few attempts to erase the losses, they were unsuccessful and the stock market ended the day with losses.
At the close, the benchmark KSE-100 fell 647.89 points, or 1.46%, to 43,829.35.
Arif Habib Limited, in its report, said the market had fallen again amid concerns over high energy and raw material prices as well as the prospect of further increases in electricity tariffs that could lead to a erosion of purchasing power and economic contraction.
Foreigners continued to sell stocks without hesitation, causing the index to drop 759 points during the session. He closed the day down 648 points.
An increase in international crude oil prices has had no impact on the stock prices of exploration and production companies, he said.
Selling pressure was seen across the board, however, technology, cement, oil and gas marketing companies contributed to the downtrend.
Sectors contributing to performance are technology (-202 points), cement (-121 points), banking (-56 points), engineering (-49 points) and oil and gas marketing companies ( -36 points).
The stocks that made a positive contribution to the index were Pakistan Petroleum Limited (+21 points), Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan (+9 points), Hub Power Company (+8 points), Allied Bank Limited (+7 points) and Feroze1888 Mills (+7 points).
Stocks that contributed negatively include TRG Pakistan (-119 points), Systems Limited (-68 points), Lucky Cement (-26 points), Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (-25 points) and Unity Foods (-25 points).
JS Global analyst Neelum Naz said the benchmark was battered by closing with a loss of 648 points to 43,829.
“In the absence of major positive triggers in the market, investors are advised to remain cautious and expose themselves at all levels in the event of major lows keeping in mind the medium term horizon,” said said the analyst.
Overall trading volume rose to 226.6 million shares from Friday’s tally of 176.1 million. The value of the shares traded during the day was 8.3 billion rupees.
The shares of 548 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 61 stocks closed higher, 470 fell and 17 were unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 41.4 million shares, losing Rs0.28 to close at Rs2.25. It was followed by Telecard Limited with 13.9 million shares, losing Rs 1.4 to close at Rs 17.27 and Treet Corporation with 9.4 million shares, losing Rs 4.35 to close at 53, 66 Rs.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of shares worth Rs 688.2 million during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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