KARACHI, Feb 25: Stocks on Tuesday finished with an extended fall under the lead of energy sector as leading investors adhered to the sidelines most of the time, apparently awaiting the outcome of board meetings of several companies being held simultaneously. The KSE 100-share index fell by 61 points at 2,428.37.
Some of them have already came out with good interim dividends under the lead of Pakistan Refinery; investors seem to be eying the Hub-Power board meeting on March 5. Pakistan Oilfields, Pak PTA and FFC-Jordan Fertilizer are also in the line and may spring some surprises.
The Senate elections were in line with the official perceptions as the coalition government was close to the majority, which could ensure smooth sailing in both the houses, but it was not considered a market factor. The market was a victim of slack demand rather than large selling.
Big ones appear to be more interested to watch the crucial cricket match between Pakistan and Holland rather than indulging in fresh share business at the falling prices.
The traded volume fell below the 100m share mark at 77m shares as the KSE 100-share index suffered a fresh sharp fall of 60.65 points or 2.75 per cent at 2,428.37 as compared to 2,489.02 a day earlier.
Corporate announcements from Mari Gas and Pakistan Refinery, which came out with interim dividend of 25 and 20 per cent, respectively, were on the higher side of the market expectations but failed to generate fresh buying in the energy shares. Both, however, rose sharply by Rs3.70 and Rs10.15, respectively.
The board meetings of over three dozens companies were held on Monday and more were due on Tuesday, and most of them have come out with encouraging results and payouts but failed to bring investors back in the market.
A late hour announcement by the Hub-Power management that its board will meet on March 5, to finalize the final dividend could well prove an attractive bait for investors, who are expected to back on the market by Wednesday.
“An idea of sluggishness may well be had from the fact that investors were not inclined to overreact to the higher dividend announcements and mostly played safe in the absence of strong financial support,” analysts said, adding “it may well prove a lull before the storm.”
All the overvalued shares suffered sharp pruning under the lead of PSO, Pakistan Oilfields, Nestle Milkpak, Shell Pakistan and Wyeth Pakistan, off Rs6.50 to Rs14. They were followed by Adamjee Insurance, Javed Omer, National Refinery, Shell Gas, Pak-Suzuki Motors, ICI Pakistan, Engro Chemical, off Rs1.85 to Rs5.
But some of the leading shares managed to put on fresh gains, prominent among them being Shafiq Textiles, Crescent Steel, Mari Gas, Siemens Pakistan and Pakistan Refinery, which posted gains ranging from Rs2.70 to Rs10.15. Habib Insurance, Liberty Mills, Quality Textiles and Atlas Battery also rose by Rs1.40 to Rs2.30.
Trading volume fell to 77m shares from the previous 100m shares as losers maintained a strong lead over the gainers at 185 to 59, with 34 shares holding on to the last levels.
Hub-Power again topped the list of actives, off 65 paisa at Rs34.50 on 20m shares followed by PTCL, lower 55 paisa at Rs20.55 on 11m shares, PSO, sharply lower by Rs6.50 at Rs179.30 also on 11m shares, Pak PTA, easy 70 paisa at Rs7.15 on 8m shares and FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, lower 50 paisa at Rs11.20 on 5m shares.
Other actives included Sui Northern Gas, lower 75 paisa on selling ahead of board meeting on 4m shares, Pakistan Oilfields, off Rs8.40 on 2m shares, KESC, lower 45 paisa also on 2m shares, ICI Pakistan, off Rs2.25 on 1.443m shares and National Bank, easy 60 paisa on 1.264m shares.
FORWARD COUNTER: Speculative issues on the forward counter received fresh massive battering under the lead of PSO, which fell by Rs5.95 to Rs6.16 for both the settlements around Rs179.50 on 4m shares. Engro Chemical and ICI Pakistan followed it, off Rs1.75 to Rs2.40 at Rs84.90 and Rs47.15 for the ruling contracts.
Hub-Power was actively traded off 55 paisa at Rs34.55 on 7m shares, followed by PTCL, easy 58 paisa at Rs20.65 on 2m shares, Nishat Mills and FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, up 10 paisa and off 35 paisa at Rs15.60 and Rs11.30, respectively, on 1m shares each.
DEFAULTER COMPANIES: Schon Modaraba again came in for the modest support and rose by 10 paisa at Rs0.70 on 10,500 shares, followed by Metropolitan Steel, sharply higher by Rs1.50 at Rs15.50 on 8,000 shares, and Shahpur Textiles, unchanged at Rs1.50 on 2,000 shares.
DIVIDEND: Pakistan Refinery interim at the rate of 25 per cent for the year ended Dec 31, 2002.