Index loses 98.53 points

The KSE-100 index lost 98.53 points on Wednesday to close at the level of 12,265.53 points due to selling on both local and foreign fronts. After a positive opening, the index hit 12,402.55 points intra-day high level. However, this trend could not continue due to selling and the index dropped into negative at 12,234.85 points intra-day low level.
Trading volume at ready counter rose to 61.221 million shares as compared to Tuesday's 54.538 million shares. Market capitalisation declined by Rs 26 billion to Rs 3.240 trillion. Of 378 active scrips, 177 closed in negative and 77 in positive, while the values of 124 stocks remained unchanged. Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim was the volume leader with 5.398 million shares. However, it lost Re 0.28 to close at Rs 46.80.
NBP gained Re 0.53 to close at Rs 54.91 with 4.902 million shares while BoP lost Re 0.41 to close at Rs 6.24 with 2.609 million shares. Jahangir Siddiqui Co declined by Re 0.39 to close at Rs 6.92 with 4.445 million shares. POL plunged by Rs 18.64 to close at Rs 363.54 with 3.735 million shares. Azgard Nine lost Re 0.07 to close at Rs 6.13 with 3.444 million shares. Hub Power decreased by Re 0.20 to close at Rs 39.49 with 2.794 million shares. Amtex lost Re 0.02 to close at Rs 2.63 with 2.395 million shares. Lotte Pakistan PTA decreased by Re 0.36 to close at Rs 12.40 with 2.110 million shares. PTCL gained Re 0.04 to close at Rs 12.62 with 1.982 million shares.
Exide (Pak) and Blessed Textile were highest gainers, increasing by Rs 4.53 and Rs 2.92 to close at Rs 180.82 and Rs 94.16 respectively, while Nestle Pakistan and Unilever Pak were worst losers, declining by Rs 40.86 and Rs 39.79 to close at Rs 4139.13 and Rs 5691.02 respectively.
Hasnain Asghar Ali at Aziz Fidahusein Co said that sell-off was mainly witnessed in the high priced stocks. Unable to sustain the high valuation due to curtailed local strength and absence of follow-up support, along with the sectors and stocks facing rising input cost and declining local and export demand, gas curtailment and high debt portfolio, along with those directly or indirectly hit by the ballooning circular debt, low volume certainly magnified the sell-off.
He said that inability, of even those handful companies, coming up with better than expected announcements to sustain the attained values, clearly indicated massive post-result onslaught, mainly in the stocks unlikely to match the propagated market expectations and in those already trading at high multiple thus indicating further erosion. While consistent dumping by the offshore participants is likely to force, anticipated accumulation done by the local quarters was most probably executed when the buy orders were being routed through offshore channels, along with likelihood of collateral holdings to join the decline in case margin calls were not addressed.