Stocks plunge 425 points to hit three-year low
KARACHI: As the investors’ interest in equities sank to new lows, stocks continued the losing streak for fourth session in a row. The benchmark KSE-100 index opened in the red and remained on a slippery slope in both sessions on Friday, finishing with loss of 424.68 points (1.16 per cent) to settle at 36,122.95 - lowest since May 31, 2016.
Selling was observed across the board in the lead of heavyweight banking and exploration and production sectors. Investors’ concerns were mounting each passing day on the precarious health of economy, the hint of harsh budgetary measures that may be taken to meet the International Monetary Fund conditions for bailout package and the scare over what would be decreed by the upcoming budget.
Announcement of MSCI review scheduled on May 13, and the Financial Action Task Force review on the country’s compliance report further kept investors on tenterhooks. Adding fuel to the fire, speculations started to haunt investors on the political developments. Finally, the advent of Ramazan in a couple of days with reduced trade timings also discouraged participants from taking fresh positions.
The volume remained low at 64 million shares, down 5pc over the previous day while traded value jumped by 18pc to reach Rs2.9bn. Stocks that contributed significantly included Unity Foods, Fauji Cement, Bank of Punjab, Lotte Chemical and Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), which formed 32pc of total volume.