KARACHI: The spectacular rally for the first four days of the week that sent the KSE-100 index up by 3,121 points and 10.85 per cent ceased to a halt on Friday as bulls appeared to take a breather.

The market opened in the positive but could not sustain the high levels and succumbed to profit taking.

The benchmark index receded by 534.43 points (1.7pc) during the day and settled at 31,350.02. During the session the index made intra-day high and low by 216 and 659 points respectively.

But apart from the ‘slight correction’ after the most gainful week in the year, the market was also thrown into panic by the fake news appearing in the Indian press headlined: “Pakistan blacklisted by FATF’s affiliate APG in Canberra’’.

Although the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) clarified in an emailed statement to some local brokerages that ‘’FATF to examine Pakistan Action plan progress at October meeting’’ and the Ministry of Finance dished out a presser to comfort the nation that the” Indian news was incorrect and baseless”, the damage had been done.

Investors remained wary.

While the institutional investors who had generally distanced themselves from buying kept to the side-lines while Individuals and brokers also decided against taking further fresh positions ahead of the rollover week.

The shrinkage of current account deficit by 73pc year-on-year was still taken as a sign of hope for improved economic outlook.

Foreigners’ buying did not help lift the market as their interest remained on the developments on the Pakistan-India relationship following the change of Occupied Kashmir status by India.

Traded volume fell over the previous day to 231 million shares, while the traded value was down to Rs7.2bn from Rs7.6bn.

Intermarket Securities identified major losers as the Hub Power Company down 4.15pc, Habib Bank Ltd 2.47pc, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd 3.12pc, Fauji Fertiliser Company 3.02pc, United Bank Ltd 2.62pc, Dawood Hercules 3.40pc, Oil and Gas Development Company 1.49pc, Lucky Cement 2.05pc, MCB Bank 1.31pc and Pakistan Oilfields Ltd 1.73pc.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2019