LAHORE
A day that opened well lost its charm as investors booked profits after news flew in from the court room in Islamabad. The Supreme Court heard the case against the first family for the fourth day. It remains unclear to what the outcome shall be and investors are not ready to take any risk. Market participation was low again and profit taking pulled the index lower.
The State Bank of Pakistan will announce the monetary policy this Saturday, 22nd July. This will be Tariq Bajwa’s first announcement since his appointment on 7th July, two days after the controversy which emerged, after the rupee recorded the biggest same-day drop in 9 years.
The benchmark KSE 100 index surged 668.87 points to 46,087.58 early in the day but later lay off all the gains and a further 447.03 points to hit intraday low of 44,971.68. Hence, breaking the 45,000 level along its way.
The KMI 30 index depreciated by 702.34 points and the KSE All Share Index shed 155.04 points. The advancer to decliner ratio stood at 102 to 253.
The market volumes were recorded at 148.02 million with TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG -2.77 per cent) in the lead as 10.51 million shares of the script were traded. Followed by Aisha Steel Mills Limited (ASL -4.02 per cent), volume 8.04 million and Dewan Farooque Motors Limited (DFML -4.99 per cent), volume 7.20 million.
The cement sector continued to drop despite optimism relating to CPEC projects.
Kohat Cement Company Limited (KOHC -1.97 per cent) now stands at capital loss of 27.80 per cent in the last one year, Fecto Cement Limited (FECTC -2.11 per cent) fell 23.84 per cent within the same period while Gharibwal Cement Limited (GWLC -1.82 per cent) took a 15.83 per cent dip, D. G. Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC -1.50 per cent) and Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF -2.03 per cent) are lower by 5.54 per cent and 4.39 per cent respectively.
The engineering sector has remained mixed, with Amreli Steels Limited (ASTL -0.96 per cent) having accumulated capital gains of 104.84 per cent in the last year, International Industries Limited (INIL -2.44 per cent) surged 264.92 per cent, Crescent Steel & Allied Products Limited (CSAP +0.02 per cent) ballooned by 70.46 per cent in the same period. On the other hand, Mughal Iron and Steel Industries Limited (MUGHAL -2.23 per cent), lost 0.11 per cent in the past year.
