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KARACHI: A lack of positive triggers resulted in choppy trading on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.
According to Arif Habib Ltd, volumes were low while trading activity remained sideways throughout the day in anticipation of the mini-budget, which is expected to withdraw tax exemptions to the tune of Rs350 billion. Third-tier stocks witnessed hefty volumes as profit-taking took place in the last trading hour.
As a result, the KSE-100 index lost 204.95 points or 0.46 per cent to close at 43,913.44 points.
Market participation decreased 48.7pc to 114.7 million shares while the value of traded shares also went down 39.8pc to $24.8m.
Sectors taking away the highest number of points from the benchmark index included oil and gas exploration (62.79 points), technology and communication (55.03 points), power generation and distribution (34.00 points), commercial banking (33.31 points) and food and personal care (29.94 points).
Stocks that contributed significantly to the traded volume included Cnergyico PK Ltd (10.87m shares), TRG Pakistan (9.51m shares), Unity Foods Ltd (5.37m shares), TeleCard Ltd (4.03m shares) and Hum Network Ltd (3.91m shares).
Shares contributing positively to the index were Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (24.85 points), Kohat Cement Company Ltd (17.26 points), Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd (12.15 points), Systems Ltd (9.06 points) and MCB Bank Ltd (6.12 points).
Stocks that took away the maximum number of points from the index included TRG Pakistan Ltd (60.93 points), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (36.46 points), The Hub Power Company Ltd (29.91 points), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (16.94 points) and Nestle Pakistan Ltd (14.82 points).
Stocks recording the biggest declines in percentage terms included Shakarganj Ltd, which went down 7pc, followed by Nestle Pakistan Ltd (4.76pc), TRG Pakistan Ltd (4.59pc), Bannu Woollen Mills Ltd (4.53pc) and HBL Growth Fund Ltd (3.85pc).
Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $1.8m on a net basis.
Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2021
