KARACHI: Stocks broke the three-day rally with the KSE-100 index bouncing between the intraday high and low by 132 and 165 points before closing in the red by 122.13 points (0.33 per cent) at 37,381.95.

The index opened in the positive but retracted the gains as high hopes of possible deal with the International Monetary Fund by the month end could not bring cheer to market. Investors’ attention shifted to the result season. The nine-month figures from International Steels Ltd (ISL) during the day were a disappointment which triggered profit booking by weak-holders, while institutions remained on the sidelines that resulted in low volume.

K-Electric saw activity to the downside in last half hour of trading that saw price dropping below Rs5 a share for a while. The sector that stood out and defied the selling pressure was autos, which saw most scrips trading at their upper circuits.

The volume declined further by 19pc to 140 million shares, from 172m whereas traded value dipped 24pc to $33.3m as against $43.6m. Stocks that contributed significantly included Unity Foods (right share), K-Electric, Pak Elektron, Pioneer and Maple Leaf Cement, which formed 41pc of total turnover.

Mixed sentiments were seen in the cement sector where Lucky and Fauji closed in the positive zone while DG Khan closed in the red. Analysts attributed it to rumours of cement manufacturers’ meeting ending without an agreement on the sales quota. On the exploration and production, all three scrips — Pakistan Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Company and Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (POL) — came under the hammer due to forecast of increase in global oil inventories.

Major contribution to the index downside came from MCB, down 1.04pc, POL 1.24pc, Philip Morris Pakistan 5pc, ISL 4.96pc and Pakistan State Oil 1.42pc, taking away 68 points. On the flip side, United Bank, up 1.27pc, Fauji Fertiliser 1.04pc and Hub Power 0.49pc added 41 points.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2019