KARACHI: The stock market witnessed range-bound activity on Friday with the benchmark index trading between its intraday high of 84 points and low of 248 points before closing at 44,477, down 0.24 per cent.

Topline Securities reported that major contributors to the index were Systems Ltd, Habib Bank Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive, Bank Al Habib Ltd and MCB Bank Ltd.

They cumulatively contributed 108 points to the index whereas Lucky Cement, Hub Power Company, Fauji Fertiliser Company, Cherat Cement Company and TRG Pakistan lost value to weigh down on the index by 90 points.

The traded volume and value for the day stood at 176 million shares and Rs6.84 billion, respectively. The overall turnover declined 41pc on a daily basis while the average traded value came down 35pc from a day ago.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 18.5m shares. Besides WorldCall Telecom, TeleCard Ltd and Silkbank Ltd also witnessed a high turnover with 14.1m shares and 9.3m shares, respectively. These three stocks along with First Capital Securities and TPL Corporation formed 34pc of the total traded volume.

The index came under pressure as foreign investors continued to pull out funds because of the MSCI reclassification. In particular, selling pressure was witnessed in banks, fertiliser and cement sectors, according to Arif Habib Ltd.

Local mutual funds ramped up their buying activity in recent sessions, which has helped the index sustain the selling pressure.

Arif Habib Ltd said it expects the market to show positivity in the next week as the talks with the International Monetary Fund for the sixth tranche of the loan conclude. “Moreover, a decline in the infection ratio of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan and a slowdown in global oil prices would release pressure from the external account,” it said.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2021