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KARACHI: Share prices moved within a small range on Thursday before closing on the lower side owing to mixed signals on the economic front.
Topline Securities said investors opted to remain on the sidelines in the absence of any positive trigger and continuous uncertainty over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme. Media reports suggested that the government has decided to wrap up the current $7 billion loan programme prematurely while aiming for a new and bigger loan package after the approval of the 2023-24 budget.
Arif Habib Ltd said volumes remained dull amid sluggish participation from investors, thanks to the speculations about the future of the IMF programme.
As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 41,266.77 points, down 63.79 points or 0.15 per cent from the preceding session.
The overall trading volume decreased 36.8pc to 100 million shares. The traded value went down 53.2pc to $10m on a day-on-day basis.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Globe Residency REIT (10.8m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (9.7m shares), Cnergyico PK Ltd (5.3m shares), Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Ltd (4.8m shares) and Pakistan Refinery Ltd (4m shares).
Sectors contributing negatively to the index performance were commercial banking (49 points), food and personal care (25 points), fertiliser (13.9 points), textile (6.3 points) and tobacco (5.6 points).
Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Khyber Textile Mills Ltd (Rs41.50), Gatron Industries Ltd (Rs30.55), Philip Morris Pakistan Ltd (Rs20), the Thal Industries Corporation Ltd (Rs13.14) and Indus Motor Company Ltd (Rs12.11).
Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs350), Murree Brewery Company Ltd (Rs18.90), Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs16), Din Textile Mills Ltd (Rs6.65) and Fazal Cloth Mills Ltd (Rs6.37).
Foreign investors were net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $0.05m.
Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2023
