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KARACHI: Amid a dearth of positive triggers, the stock market repeated overnight performance, pulling the benchmark KSE 100 index further down on Thursday.
Topline Securities Ltd said the local bourse saw a range-bound session, with the benchmark index swinging between an intraday high of 553 points and a low of 385 points. It eventually closed at 112,564 points, marking a decline of 361 points or 0.32 per cent day-on-day.
It observed that investor sentiment remained mixed. While Meezan Bank’s financial results aligned with market expectations, Pakistan State Oil earnings fell slightly short of industry forecasts due to weaker-than-anticipated gross margins.
The positive contribution was primarily driven by Lucky Cement, MCB Bank, Bank Alfalah, National Bank, and Meezan Bank, adding 184 points to the index. Conversely, Pakistan Petroleum, Engro Corporation, and PSO shaved off 254 points.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market remained under selling pressure amid concerns over foreign debt repayments, EU review of GSP+ status, and political uncertainty stoking bearish sentiments at PSX.
Ali Najib, Head of Sales at Insight Securities, said the market continued its consolidation phase as investors shifted between sectors and stocks, driving momentum in specific areas, as there were no triggers to influence the market.
However, the trading volume fell 10.88pc to 596.73 million shares while the traded value rose 10.96pc to Rs30.96bn day-on-day.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included The Bank of Punjab (79.31m shares), Lotte Chemical (72.10m shares), Power Cement (40.29m shares), Hascol Petroleum (31.60m shares) and Dewan Farooque (31.28m shares).
The shares registering the most significant increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Ismail Industries (Rs90.97), Pakistan Services (Rs64.51), Lucky Cement (Rs34.06), Rafhan Maize (Rs30.96) and Archroma Pakistan (Rs25.64).
The companies registering significant decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Unilever Foods (Rs441.45), Nestle Pakistan (Rs63.50), Hoechst Pakistan (Rs26.41), Sitara Chemical (Rs13.26) and Ferozsons Laboratories (Rs13.24).
Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2025
