KARACHI: The stock market witnessed heavy profit-booking in the last hour which saw the screens turn red and the KSE-100 Index close about flat with a minor loss of 22.50 points (0.06 per cent) at 37,673.25.

It started on a firm footing and attempted to recover the remaining losses from Monday which propelled it to intraday high by 637 points. But trading remained choppy as investors were caught between uncertainties ranging from the spread of coronavirus and its worrisome impact on the global economy and future course of price of oil in the international markets.

Foreign selling tickled down to $0.97 million which was taken as a positive.

As Saudi Arabia and the UAE signalled crude production ramp-up in April and Russia was adamant on keeping supplies up, oil prices softened and the Asian share markets slipped. At the PSX, institutional participants, companies and mutual funds continued to cherry-pick stocks while individuals got cold feet and started to reduce positions. Investors decided to wait for the Started Bank monetary policy statement due on 17th with reports of the prime minister hinting at the possibility of a cut in Interest rates.

While the leveraged cement stocks continued to rally and the exploration and production (E&P) scrips also stepped out of the red in early trade, profit-booking saw prices take a plunge in the latter half of the session. The volume declined 21pc 217.6m shares from 274.8m.

Scrip-wise, cement scrips remained mixed with DG Khan, Lucky, Maple Leaf and Fauji finishing in the red. E&P stocks also lost ground in the final hours with Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan Oilfields and Mari Petroleum shedding values. Selected banks were up as prices had become attractive. Habib Bank rose 1.8pc, United 2.3pc, MCB 0.9pc and Bank Alfalah 3.8pc were the major gainers in the sector.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2020