LAHORE: It seems as if Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is amidst a period of bad luck, for weeks now the market has struggled to recover and submit drastic gains and sentiments don’t seem to be changing either. Another session saw indices trade lower with thin volumes and today was no exception. The KSE 100 index after an initial rise to 41,745.76 with a 150.45 points gain dropped 239.87 points below previous day close. The index touched an intraday low of 41,355.45 before settling 185.83 points down at 41,409.49.
The KMI 30 index rose by 449.81 points to 71,024.22 and later fell 331.84 points today’s minimum of 70,242.57. The index closed 272.54 points in the red while the KSE All Share Index finished the day with an 85.74 points loss at 29,489.15.
The market volumes remained narrow. Total traded volume was recorded as 139.84 million with 65.90 million shares exchanged in the KSE 100 index scripts. Azgard Nine Limited (ANL +0.28 per cent) led the volume chart with 6.52 million shares traded followed by Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL -5.00 per cent). The script saw 10.02 million shares exchange hands collapsed to its lower circuit breaker price of Rs 67.64 close to its 52-week low of Rs 66.32.
Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL -5.00 per cent) came flying down after declaring results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. The company posted an appreciation in sales of 16 per cent Year-on-year and 18 per cent quarter-on-quarter. But higher costs pulled profit after taxation down 61 per cent compared to the last quarter and 59 per cent compared to same period last year. Earnings per share clocked at Rs 0.24 with no payout approved by the board.
Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO +0.05 per cent) posted dividend income of Rs 2.29 billion a massive jump from Rs 0.441 billion of the last quarter. The company along with per-share earnings of Rs 4.58 declaration an interim dividend of Rs 5.00 in addition to that already announced, Rs 12.00.
Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC -0.93 per cent) came out with an 11 per cent increase in sales which converted into 16 per cent higher net profits compared to 1QFY17. Earnings per share clocked at Rs 3.95 with an interim cash dividend of Rs 1.75.
