Institut-ional profit-taking in bluechips kept the Karachi share market bearish Wednesday. The KSE-100 index closed 34 points lower at 34,482.00 compared to 34,516.30 of the previous trading session. Volatility prevailed on the bourse as the benchmark index hit the session low and high of 34,430.11 and 34,631.11 points in intraday trade.
The second- and third-tier scrips dominated the day's trading that ended higher at 540 million shares against 525 million of Tuesday. The traded value contracted to Rs 15.77 billion from the previous Rs 15.88 billion as of the total 388 issues, 184 appreciated, 178 depreciated while 26 stayed unchanged.
The market capitalisation remained almost flat at Rs 7.436 trillion. Foreign investors ended the day as net buyers of portfolios worth $6 million. K-Electric led the day's volume for the third consecutive day with 144 million trading turnover. The power utility rose to Rs 8.81. Other nine best performers were Jahangir Siddiqui Company 36.3 million, Dewan Cement 32 million, PIA 22 million, Azgard Nine 19 million, TRG Pakistan 18 million, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim 16 million, Byco Petroleum 14.7 million, Pace Pakistan 14.7 million and Lotte Chemical 9.7 million shares.
Futures market decreased to 32 million contracts from 35 million. "Stocks closed lower on institutional profit-taking in bluechip scrips," viewed Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp. Investor interest in fertilizer scrips on improved earnings outlook supported the index to close above session lows, the analyst added. Concerns for impact of IMF focused structural reforms in taxation and energy sector, political uncertainty and consolidation ahead of new tax slabs applicable on capital gains next month played a catalyst role in bearish sentiments.
Expecting the market to undergo a small correction going forward, JS analyst Ahmed Saeed Khan dubbed Wednesday's session as volatile. "The index juggled between the red and the green zone," he noted. BYCO, which after expansion remained in the limelight and gravitated investors' attention, hit its upper lock in the first 20 minutes of the session's start.
Continuing their positive trajectory, SSGC and SNGP gained 1.5 and 2.3 percent for the two gas suppliers were beneficiaries of the expected gas tariff hike. Auto sector saw profit-taking as investors went for booking gains making major issues like AGTL, MTL, PSMC and GHNL losing 2.2, 0.4, 0.9 and 3 percent. "News of China establishing its biggest embassy globally in Pakistan and reassurance of the commitment to build Pak-China Economic Corridor served as a positive trigger," Khan opined. This, he said, kept the cement sector in green initially but in the second half profit-taking was witnessed leading the major scrips to close in red.
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