KARACHI: Equities received some respite on Tuesday from the bearish momentum after the central bank reported a surplus in the country’s current account in May.

Topline Securities said the KSE-100 index commenced the trading session on a positive note and hit an intraday high of 119 points. However, the respite proved temporary with the stock market succumbing to selling pressure afterwards.

Arif Habib Ltd said trading remained range-bound due to the impending negotiations between the government and the International Monetary Fund for the ninth review of the current loan programme of $7 billion. Investors chose to stay invested in the exploration and production sector, helping the KSE-100 index close in the positive zone.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 40,653.03 points, up 31.81 points or 0.08 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume decreased 30.6pc to 124.9 million shares. The traded value went down 28pc to $14.1m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included K-Electric Ltd (9.9m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (6.9m shares), Hascole Petroleum Ltd (6.7m shares), Cnergyico PK Ltd (6.7m shares) and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (5.6m shares).

Sectors contributing the most to the index performance were exploration and production (61.2 points), oil marketing (28.5 points), technology and communication (21.6 points), power generation and distribution (16.6 points) and investment banking (12.3 points).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs100),

Bata Pakistan Ltd (Rs99.57), Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs73.67), Lucky Core Industries Ltd (Rs9.27) and Hinopak Motors Ltd (Rs8.31).

Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Ltd (Rs149), Mehmood Textile Mills Ltd (Rs79.90), Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (Rs30.39), the Thal Industries Corporation Ltd (Rs24.70) and Millat Tractors Ltd (Rs11.20).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $1.29m.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2023