KARACHI: Stocks snapped the three-day rally that had seen the market retrieve much of the heavy losses suffered earlier in the week. The trading remained choppy on Friday with the KSE-100 index finishing with a loss of 105.02 points (0.31 per cent) at 33,657.46.
The last day of the futures rollover went through smoothly. On the political front, news of the opposition’s azadi march was eclipsed by the hourly bulletin on the failing health of the former convicted prime minister.
Yet, the announcement by JUI (F) chief that there was no change of schedule of the march on 27th to expressed solidarity with Kashmiris followed by walk towards Islamabad on 31st kept risk averse institutional investors cautious.
The significant event of the day was the release of financial results by scores of companies including Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), DG Khan Cement, Meezan Bank, Pak Suzuki, Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, GlaxoSmithKline. It kept investors glued to the trading screens.
Foreigners were net sellers of equity worth $0.69 million and other local participants also reduced their positions, while liquidity was mopped up by individuals who remained buyers of shares worth $1.66m.
The volume surged 40.8pc to 170.9m shares, from 121.3m while traded value was up by merely 0.9pc to $25.8m. Second-tier stocks were the major contributors with Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (PIBTL), Worldcall Telecom, Lotte Chemical, Bank of Punjab and Unity Foods accounting for 51.4pc of the total turnover.
Sectors contributing majorly to the dismal performance included commercial banks, decreasing by 42 points and power generation 32 points. Most big banks, Habib, MCB and United closed in the red. In exploration and production, OGDC and Pakistan Oilfields closed slightly positive while Pakistan Petroleum’s share price tripped a trifle. Mixed sentiments were seen in cement where Lucky was the major laggard.
Prominent gainers included PIBTL, up 10.9pc, National Bank 2.4pc and Bank of Punjab 3.4pc. Meanwhile, leading losers were Hub Power, down 1.8pc, Habib Bank 1.1pc and Bank Al Habib 1.2pc.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2019
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