KARACHI: The stock market observed a negative session on Friday owing to the continuous political un­rest that kept investors away.

Arif Habib Ltd said bears took charge of the trading floor and drove the index down from the preceding close. Investors squared up their positions ahead of the “uncertain weekend” as they feared that political noise would gather momentum.

Volumes in mainboard stocks remained decent whereas healthy trading interest was observed in third-tier shares.

JS Global said the stock market is expected to remain range-bound going forward. “Therefore, we recommend that investors stay cautious and wait for further dips to build any fresh positions,” it added.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 42,150.10 points, down 243.42 points or 0.57 per cent from the preceding session.

The trading volume decreased 11.5pc to 143.2 million shares while the traded value went up 8.7pc to $22.8m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Dewan Motors Ltd (12.3m shares), TRG Pakistan Ltd (10.7m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (10.4m shares), Hascol Petroleum Ltd (7.2m shares) and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (5.6m shares).

Sectors that contributed to the index performance were technology and communication (-71.6 points), cement (-68.2 points), oil and gas marketing (-19.1 points), pharmaceutical (-19 points), food and personal care products (-18.6 points).

Companies registering the biggest increase in their share prices in absolute terms were Allawasaya Textile and Finishing Mills Ltd (Rs225.33), Bhanero Textile Mills Ltd (Rs66.75), Pakistan Services Ltd (Rs60.12), Premium Textile Mills Ltd (Rs47.79) and Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs21).

Shares that declined the most in rupee terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs488.25), Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs83.22), Sapphire Textile Mills Ltd (Rs50.13), Ismail Industries Ltd (Rs36.28) and Gatron Industries Ltd (Rs18.01).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $1.82m.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2022