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KARACHI: Amid a dearth of positive triggers, the stock market continued its downturn for the fourth straight session on Monday mainly due to a weakening of the rupee on falling foreign exchange reserves ahead of the first review of the International Monetary Fund next month, crucial for the release of next tranche.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market stayed bearish amid consolidation in the earning season, investor concerns for foreign outflows, and the outcome of tax reforms ahead of the IMF review.
He added that rupee instability, falling foreign exchange reserves and geopolitical uncertainty were other factors that depressed investor sentiments.
Topline Securities Ltd said the local bourse experienced a volatile session today, oscillating between gains and losses. The index reached an intraday high of 439 points before plunging to a low of 571 points, ultimately closing at 111,743, down 341 points or 0.30 per cent day-on-day. Initial optimism faded as the lack of positive triggers dampened investor sentiment, triggering a sell-off in the latter half of the session. With no major catalysts to sustain momentum, the market drifted into negative territory by the close. The upward movement was primarily driven by Lucky Cement, Bank Alhabib, Bank of Punjab (BOP), United Bank, and Fatima Fertiliser, collectively contributing 296 points to the index. Conversely, Mari Energies, Pakistan Petroleum, TRG Pakistan, The Searle Company, and OGDCL dragged the index down by 301 points.
BOP attracted investor interest after it reported earnings per share of Rs1.67 for 4QFY24 , bringing the total EPS for FY24 to Rs4.09. Additionally, it declared a cash dividend of Rs1.80 per share.
Ali Najib, Head of Sales at Insight Securities, noted that the market continued its consolidation phase as investors’ sentiment remained subdued.
However, the market activity remained strong as the trading volume rose 11.84pc to 511.19 million shares while the traded value decreased 15.42pc to Rs19.63bn day-on-day.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included The Bank of Punjab (184.43m shares), Power Cement (38.64m shares), WorldCall Telecom (33.02m shares), Hascol Petroleum ( 15.87m shares) and K-Electric (14.17m shares).
Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2025
