KARACHI: Stocks snapped three-day winning streak as investors resorted to profit taking on the last trading day before the weekend.

The KSE-100 index ceded 65.30 points (0.21 per cent) from the 1,332 points (4.4pc) accumulated in the previous three bullish sessions. The index settled at 31,481.31 points.

Market remained volatile throughout the day with the index making intra-day high and low by 83 points and 267 points respectively. Mutual funds, which had led the rally on Thursday by heavy net purchases of $7.22m worth of stocks, stood quiet on Friday.

On the news front, the State Bank of Pakistan will announce monetary policy on Monday, Sept 16 where near consensus expectation is of unchanged policy rate. Although investors were disinclined to build fresh positions with the weekend ahead, sentiments were positive on the probability of a favourable Financial Action Task Force review.

“Stocks closed lower amid post earning season profit taking at the PSX” commented analyst Ahsan Mehanti. Falling global crude oil prices, investor concerns over the court’s verdict on Government Infrastructure Develop­ment Cess for corporate sector and dismal data on auto sales falling by 41pc in August played a catalyst role in bearish close, he said.

Investor participation remained thin as volumes shrank 45pc day-on-day to 103 million shares. Traded value also dropped 43pc to reach $29.9m.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included Maple Leaf Cement Factory, Unity Foods, Oil and Gas Deve­lopment Company (OGDC), Pak Elektron and Lotte Chemical, which formed 30pc of total volumes.

Steel sector scrips were gainers as bargain hunters picked up stocks available at heavily discounted prices. Aisha Steel and Mughal Steel hit their upper circuits.

Scrip-wise, leading losers on Friday were Habib Bank Ltd down 3.50pc, MCB Bank 2.18pc, Bank Al Habib Ltd 1.57pc, Bank Alflalah Ltd 2.05pc, Hub Power Company 2.21pc, K-Electric 2.98pc, Indus Motor Company 2.40pc, Honda Atlas Car 2.57pc and Pak Suzuki Motor Company 1.73pc.

On the flipside, shares that supported the index included Lucky Cement up 4.68pc, Engro Fertiliser 1.61pc, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd 0.96pc, OGDC 0.39pc and Searle Pakistan 1.99pc.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2019