KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday remained under severe pressure and closed in deep red zone due to heavy selling on investor concerns over increasing political uncertainty post general elections in the country.
The benchmark KSE-100 index plunged by 1,133.78 points or 1.82 percent and closed at 61,020.06 points. During the session, the index hit 62,394.25 points intra-day high and 60,926.86 points intra-day low levels.
Total daily trading volumes on ready counter increased to 345.126 million shares as compared to 303.886 million shares traded on Wednesday while total daily traded value on the ready counter declined to Rs 11.873 billion against previous session’s Rs 14.687 billion.
BRIndex100 decreased by 139.07 points or 2.2 percent to close at 6,195.04 points with total daily turnover of 285.492 million shares.
BRIndex30 declined by 717.98 points or 3.31 percent to close at 21,001.82 points with total daily trading volumes of 217.801 million shares.
The foreign investors also remained net sellers of shares worth $451,582. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 163 billion to close at Rs 8.883 trillion. Out of total 344 active scrips, 238 closed in negative and only 85 in positive while the value of 21 stocks remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with 33.326 million shares however lost Re 0.14 to close at Rs 4.33 followed by P.I.A.C. (A) that increased by Re 0.89 to close at Rs 10.61 with 28.606 million shares. Media Times Limited gained Rs 0.61 to close at Rs 1.98 with 22.428 million shares.
Rafhan Maize Products Company and Philip Morris Pakistan were the top gainers increasing by Rs 223.75 and Rs 11.50 respectively to close at Rs 8,500.00 and Rs 740.00 while Mari Petroleum Company and Mehmood Textile Mills were the top losers declining by Rs 54.67 and Rs 42.02 respectively to close at Rs 2,267.11 and Rs 518.28.
An analyst at Topline Securities said that Pakistan equities began the business on a positive note, stayed in the green zone for most of the business hours as the KSE-100 index made an intraday high at 62,394 level (up 240 points).
“But, the benchmark KSE-100 index started to come off sharply after news arrived on different media channels regarding PTI engaging in talks with different parties to form new government. This development knocked down market’s positive momentum with a feather.”
During the day, E&P, Power, Bank and Fertilizer sectors contributed negatively to the index as OGDC, PPL, HUBC, UBL and ENGRO lost 438 points, cumulatively.
BR Automobile Assembler Index decreased by 184.99 points or 1.29 percent to close at 14,160.14 points with total turnover of 10.066 million shares.
BR Cement Index declined by 128.36 points or 2.01 percent to close at 6,248.97 points with 18.976 million shares.
BR Commercial Banks Index eroded 172.87 points or 1.1 percent to close at 15,563.35 points with 31.057 million shares.
BR Power Generation and Distribution Index fell by 230.17 points or 1.69 percent to close at 13,429.61 points with 44.529 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index plunged by 204.38 points or 3.48 percent to close at 5,660.35 points with 51.643 million shares.
BR Tech & Comm Index lost 84.47 points or 2.37 percent to close at 3,472.52 points with 68.109 million shares.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said stocks fell across the board amid political noise as new coalitions emerge for PM slot.
He said default risks amid political instability, policy uncertainty and ECC approvals over increase in gas prices for industrials to recover additional Rs 242 billion played a catalyst role in bearish close.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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