KARACHI: Stock prices tumbled on Monday on negative macroeconomic triggers as the representative index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange dropped below the psychological level of 41,000 points.

Topline Securities said the “bloodbath” was caused by selling headwinds after a gap of almost eight weeks.

It attributed the selling spree to the calendar of the International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board, which didn’t have Pakistan as its agenda item until Jun 30, which is the expiry date of the currently stalled loan programme.

Institutional selling triggered after the IMF calendar-related development and thus dented the sentiments of investors broadly, it added.

Arif Habib Ltd said the KSE-100 index opened in the green on the news about the Chinese loan rollover. But bears made a comeback later, pulling share prices down in view of the stalled IMF loan programme. Investors’ involvement was sluggish, with third-tier equities dominating the volume board, it added.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 40,621.22 points, down 680.08 points or 1.65 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume increased 15.2pc to 179.8 million shares. The traded value went up 48.9pc to $19.4m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (27.6m shares), K-Electric Ltd (11.3m shares), Cnergyico PK Ltd (9.3m shares), TPL Properties Ltd (8.1m shares) and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (7m shares).

Sectors contributing negatively to the index performance were exploration and production (140.4 points), technology and communication (100.7 points), commercial banking (98.2 points), fertiliser (84.6 points) and power generation and distribution (64.6 points).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (Rs76.72), Mehmood Textile Mills Ltd (Rs74.33), Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs36), Khairpur Sugar Mills Ltd (Rs13.35) and Gadoon Textile Mills Ltd (Rs10.04).

Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Bhanero Textile Mills Ltd (Rs80), Bata Pakistan Ltd (Rs64), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (Rs43.99), Archroma Pakistan Ltd (Rs24.02) and Khyber Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs20.77).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $1.04m.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2023