KARACHI: The stock market plunged on Tuesday as the KSE-100 index bled 415.69 points (0.94 per cent) to close at 43,885.51.

The index opened 803 points (1.8pc) in the red following rout in the Asian markets after the Monday’s bloodbath on the Wall Street that saw US Dow Jones Industrial Average crash 1,175 points, the biggest single-day drop.

Investors in the local market feared heavy foreign outflows as they thought that the foreign fund managers could withdraw to square their positions elsewhere. Panic selling, thus, pushed weak holders to drastically reduced exposure in risky assets.

WTI sliding below $64 per barrel further dented the investor sentiments. However, some value-buying at day lows led market to partially recover the initial heavy losses. The figures released by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan in the evening provided some relief as no unusual heavy outflows were recorded on Monday with net foreign sale of $0.92 million worth of stocks. On the economic front, the World Bank has signed loans worth $305m with Pakistan.

The traded volume slipped 16pc over the previous session to 238m shares on Monday, while the traded value was down 20pc to Rs10.6 billion.

Activity was seen in second and third tier stocks on back of company-specific news and developments.

Azgard Nine, the volume leader for the day with 25m shares traded on the back of notice of loan restructuring. Another second-tier stock, TRG Pakisan, hit its upper circuit on positive news flow.

On the cement sector Pioneer Cement, down 3.5pc, Kohinoor Cement 3pc, Lucky Cement 2.6pc, D. G. Khan Cement 2.4pc, Maple Leaf Cement 1.1pc and Cherat Cement 0.7pc cumulatively shed 80 points. In exploration and production, Oil and Gas Development Company, decreasing by 0.8pc,

Pakistan Petroleum 1.4pc and Pakistan Oilfields 1.7pc closed in the red. Market was thought to remain volatile going forward as investors would be tracking the US and Asian markets and any change in the foreign fund managers’ mood.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2018