KARACHI: The stock market ended its seven-session winning streak on Monday due to anticipated harsh measures in the upcoming budget, causing negative sentiments leading to profit-taking and closing in the red after initially opening in the green.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said uncertainty over structural reforms for Pak-IMF’s new bailout package, reports of a new tax collection target at Rs12.4tr, and investor concerns over the outcome of negotiations over CPEC dues to China contributed to the bearish close.
He added that the market was still under pressure due to over-leveraging and the rollover of future contracts.
Topline Securities Ltd said the equity market experienced a consolidation session.
The fertiliser, banking, and IT sectors made positive contributions, with Systems Ltd, Meezan Bank, TRG Pakistan, and Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim Ltd adding 122 points. Conversely, Engro Corporation, MCB Bank, and Habib Bank Ltd attracted selling and lost 143 points.
As a result, the benchmark index hit an intraday high of 75,342.35 and a low of 74,734.25. However, the KSE 100 index settled lower at 75,084.00 points after losing 258.34 points or 0.34pc on a day-on-day basis.
However, the overall trading volume tumbled 24.42pc to 375.35 million shares. The traded value also dipped 7.54pc to Rs16.3bn day-on-day.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Hum Network (30.91m shares), K-Electric (18.31m shares), Dewan Farooque (17.86m shares), Worldcall Telecom (16.65m shares) and Kohinoor Spinning Mills (12.37m shares).
The shares registering the most significant increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Ismail Industries (Rs69.93), Hallmark Company (Rs41.33), Mehmood Textile (Rs31.11), Gatron Ind (Rs18.28) and Thal Ltd(Rs16.42).
The companies registering the major decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Hoechst Pakistan (Rs97.78), Khyber Textile (Rs34.55), Unilever Foods (Rs31.26), Dawood Law (Rs13.97) and Exide Pakistan (Rs13.46).
Foreign investors remained net buyers as they bought shares worth $0.27m.
Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2024
