Karachi equities closed flat on Week-on-Week (WoW) as the risk-averse stocks investors remained jittery throughout the week ahead of a long Ashura weekend.
"The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) lacked vibrancy during the outgoing week with the upcoming long weekend keeping investors sentiments jittery," viewed Raheel Ashraf JS Research.
Analysts at Topline Research termed the week "uninteresting" for investors at the country's largest bourse.
With benchmark KSE-100 index closing at 33,945 points, the average daily trading volume decreased by 11 percent to four-week low of 162 million shares.
The value of stocks traded also moved southward, down five percent to Rs 8.2 billion or $78.4 million.
During the outgoing week, individuals and mutual funds made net buying worth $4.9 million and $2.6 million, respectively. While foreigners were net sellers of $2.6 million, taking the total year-to-date (YTD 2015) foreigners' net selling to $209 million.
Topline analysts dubbed pharma and bio tech, software & computer services, real estate investment, multi-utilities and industrial transportation scrips as major gainers of the week.
Scrips from the above sectors, they observed, rose by 6.4, 5.3, 4.1, 3.5 and 3.0 percent, respectively. The losers were from support services, leisure goods and fixed line telecom which fell by 14.6, 7.4 and 4.5 percent.
Textile sector performed better than others on the back of what Raheel said incentives announced by the government for the sector. The banking stocks too were able to attract investors on strong corporate results.
"Cements and fertilisers suffered on news of government assuring IMF about another gas tariff hike in January 2016," said the analyst.
Major highlights of the week were: Government failing to push through Anti-Money Laundering Bill ahead of the next IMF review, IMF seeking plausible explanation on Textile and Farm sector incentive packages, US approving $900 million annual assistance under a new mechanism (replacing CSF) for Pakistan, China agreeing to finance another 660MW coal fired power plant in Thar block, Power shortfall rising to 5,000MW, Government announcing Rs500 per bag and Rs218 per bag subsidy on DAP and NP respectively and cotton arrivals declining by 12.7 percent YoY.