Stocks dip 201 points on lack of triggers
KARACHI: The two-day winning streak at the stock market snapped on Tuesday with the KSE-100 index declining by 201.31 points (0.47 per cent) to close at 42,544.47.
Lack of positive triggers and prevailing economic uncertainty due to absence of any concrete road map to deal with the country’s precarious economic situation kept investors on the back foot.
The index made intraday high by 98 points, but heavy sell-off triggered in the steel sector had a domino effect across all sectors that included fertiliser, cement, banks and tobacco, which dragged down the index. Profit taking was prominent in the last two hours which saw the index sink by 229 points due to rollover of future contracts.
Analysts at Arif Habib Ltd stated the news that prompted the sell-off in steel sector was possibly related to the revival of Pakistan Steel Mills. Fertiliser sector saw demand in Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, which also reacted on the expectation of restructuring of gas pricing mechanism and removal of The Gas Infrastructure Development Cess Act, 2015.