KSE-100 Index retreats: BRIndex100 depressed

Pakistan Stock Exchange Wednesday closed on a negative note due to profit-taking in various sectors.

BRIndex100 lost 28.75 points or 0.67 percent to close at 4,232.82 points. BRIndex100 touched intraday high of 4,284.02 and intraday low of 4,223.21 points. Volumes stood at 270.263 million shares.

BRIndex30 decreased by 194.24 points or 0.88 percent to close at 21,902.54 points with a turnover of 198.703 million shares.

The KSE-100 Index declined by 133.18 points or 0.33 percent to close at 40,531.42 points. Trading volumes on the ready counter increased to 305.027 million shares as compared to 254.622 million shares traded Tuesday.

The market capitalization declined by Rs 19 billion to Rs 7.799 trillion. Out of total 387 active scrips, 223 closed in negative, 144 in positive while the value of 20 stocks remained unchanged.

Unity Foods was the volume leader with 44.521 million shares. It gained Re 0.61 to close at Rs 14.66 followed by Power Cement that inched up by Re 0.45 to close at Rs 7.21 with 16.303 million shares. Unilever Foods and Colgate Palmolive were the top gainers with Rs 150.01 and Rs 100.00, respectively to close at Rs 7,500.01 and Rs 2,200.00. Bhanero Textile and Nestle Pakistan were the top losers with Rs 39.01 and Rs 37.61, respectively to close at Rs 761.00 and Rs 7,950.00.

BR Automobile Assembler Index declined by 92.43 points or 1.44 percent to close at 6,309.84 points with total volumes of 3.814 million shares.

BR Cement Index lost 35.67 points or 0.96 percent to close at 3,689.04 points with 44.610 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index decreased by 41.24 points or 0.43 percent to close at 9,477.13 points with 31.896 million shares.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index plunged by 74.2 points or 1.33 percent to close at 5,515.39 points with 19.609 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index fell 4.84 points or 0.11 percent to close at 4,505.49 points with 22.943 million shares.

BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 1,005.66 points, down 0.73 points or 0.07 percent with 18.848 million shares.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said that the stocks closed under pressure in overbought scrips on concerns over dismal data in car sales plunging by 44 percent during July-November 2019, likely subdued economic growth through FY20.

He said surging CPI inflation, concerns over ongoing political noise and weak earnings outlook in cement, fertilizers played a catalytic role in bearish close.