KARACHI, May 17: Stocks on Friday showed widespread fall on panic selling coming from all the quarters as war hysteria run high followed by rumours of an imminent Indian attack on Pakistani positions in Azad Kashmir. The KSE 100-share index fell below the psychological barrier of 1,800 points at 1,780, eroding Rs9bn from the market capital.
Conflicting rumours about the Indian attack in the Sialkot sector kept pouring in after regular intervals and in turn accelerated the pace of selling from the big ones and the smaller ones alike.
Most of the leading MNCs, notably Lever Brothers and Parke-Davis, were in the forefront of losers, falling by Rs19 and 27, respectively, followed by Shell Pakistan, Nestle MilkPak, Engro Chemicals and Aventis Pharma.
“The ready section behaved orderly but it was the spillover of panic selling from the forward counter, which created the panic and hasty selling”, stock analysts at the Al-Mal Securities said.
In an abnormal situation as the prevailing one, bargain-hunters and the speculative forces are the ones who hasten to get out of the market leaving behind a long list of casualties, they added.
The KSE 100-share index eroded 38 points or 2.09 per cent breaching through the barrier of 1,800 points at 1,779.76 as the leading base shares virtually caved in under the mounting of weight of nervous unloading.
What seems to have accelerated the pace of selling was rumours that Indian troops have shelled the border areas in the Sialkot sector.
“It was a belated reaction to the tense border situation”, stock analysts said “but it is unclear how the war fears are intensified just in one go”.
The implied threat of the Indian prime minister and meeting of his top aides including defence minister and army chief and talk of retaliation seem to have created a war scare and the consequent hasty unloadings.
“The Jummu massacre could well prove a last straw on the already fragile Indo-Pak relations”, a leading stock broker at the Moosani Securities fears adding “the situation is getting so complex each day that it is not that easy to plan for a long-term basis”.
But some others feel that the strong presence of the Americans here will not allow any bigger clash, border skirmishes between the armies facing each other notwithstanding.
Floor brokers said the market has lost just in one go what it has built up thanks to strong institutional support during the last couple of sessions.
“The near-term outlook appears terribly bearish as investors will not be back until the war clouds shatter”, they added.
Minus signs dominated the list under the lead of PSO, Adamjee Insurance, Shafiq Textiles, Pakistan Oilfields, Ferozsons Packages, Universal Leather and several others, falling by Rs1.50 to Rs3.
Wyeth Pakistan and Rafhan Maize were leading among the gainers, up Rs5 and Rs18 followed by Alico, and Bestway Cement, higher by one rupee to Rs1.90.
Trading volume rose to 139m shares from the previous 126m shares as losers forced a strong lead over the gainers at 217 to 39, with 43 shares holding on to the last levels.
Hub-Power topped the list of most actives, lower 55 paisa at Rs23.55 on 64m shares, PTCL, also off by the same amount at Rs17.35 on 24m shares, PSO, down Rs5.05 at Rs148.30 on 14m shares, FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, lower 45 paisa at Rs6.65 on 5m shares and Sui Northern, easy 20 paisa at Rs13.60 on 4m shares.
Other actives were led by Ibrahim Fibre, easy 35 paisa on 3m shares, Telecard, off 75 paisa also on 3m shares, Engro Chemical, lower Rs2.30 on 2.406m shares and ICI Pakistan, easy 40 paisa on 2m shares.
FUTURE CONTRACTS: Speculative issues on the forward counter came in heavy battering under the lead of ICI Pakistan, Engro Chemical and PSO, off by Rs1.25, Rs1.45 and Rs4.61 respectively at Rs40, 60.85 and 148.55 on active sales. PSO accounted for 4.619m shares.
But massive unloading in Hub-Power jolted the entire forward counter as it was marked down by 60 paisa at Rs23.60 on a heavy volume of 14.063m shares followed by PTCL, lower 55 paisa at Rs17.40 on 3.774m shares.
DEFAULTER COMPANIES: Shares of 16 companies came in for alternate bouts of buying and selling but the activity lacked normal aggressiveness witnessed over the last couple of sessions.
Ravi Rayon again led the list, unchanged at Rs5 on 55,100 shares followed by Mehran Jute, easy 55 paisa at Rs0.85 on 47,500 shares and Allied Motors, off Rs1.15 at Rs12.15 on 25,000 shares.