KARACHI: It was an exciting day for the stock market where the KSE-100 index showed sharp volatility as investors continued to speculate on the major development of resignation of Finance Minister Asad Umar.

The market opened on a positive note and after moving between the intraday high and low of 169 points and 333 points, the index closed with marginal gains of 59.29 points (0.16 per cent) at 36,811.86.

Foreign investors cherry-picked stocks worth $0.54 million while local individuals and institutions decided to move cautiously, ahead of the finalisation of bailout package with the Inter­national Monetary Fund. Asad Umar conceded that the incoming finance minister would be taking up the responsibility in a difficult economic situation, particularly given the ongoing negotiations with the Fund.

Banking sector recovered 37 points from the earlier day’s heavy losses as the State Bank of Pakistan clarified that the proposal to introduce treasury single account is being examined as part of government’s agenda to reform public financial management and that no decision was yet taken to implement it.

The volume jumped 25pc to 216m share, from 173m while traded value also increased by 5pc to reach $36.6m as against $34.8m. Stocks that contributed significantly included Bank of Punjab, Unity Foods (right share), Unity Foods, Lotte Chemical and Pak Elektron, which formed 60pc of total volume.

Another round of selling was witnessed in cements where Cherat, Pioneer and Maple Leaf Cement closed at their respective lower circuits, with the sector pulling the index down by 47 points. Commercial banks, power generation/distribution, and oil and gas exploration led the recovery as these sectors added 98 points to the recovery.

Among stocks, major contribution to the index upside came from Habib Bank, up 2.09pc, Fauji Fertiliser 2.47pc, Hub Power 1.99pc, United Bank 1.99pc and Pakistan Petroleum 1.21pc, adding 158 points. On the flip side, Bank of Punjab, down 7.34pc, Lucky Cement 1.71pc and MCB 0.74pc took away 52 points.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2019