LAHORE: KSE-100 index continued to slide, as was the case on Friday. The bears dragged down the market by 758 points to 40,464 level (down 1.84 per cent) as pre-election jitters engulfed the market. It is obvious that market bulls have opted to extend their vacation prior to general elections scheduled for July 25, following a relief rally of +2,130 points or +5.37 per cent in just three sessions last week.
Foreign investors have been net sellers of $303.91 million in the past one year while local insurance companies provided some support with net buying of 192.39 million.
The KSE 100 touched an intraday low of 40,419.64. The index finally settled after losing 757.77 points at 40,463.98. The KMI 30 index saw a significant decline of 2.15 per cent and was recorded at 67,407.85 and the KSE All share index depreciated by 1.45 per cent to settle the day at 29,513.28.
Most of the sectors performed poorly due to the lack of any positive triggers. The market participants seem to be waiting for the election results before taking any new positions, analysts believe. This is reflected in Monday’s dull market participation as indicated by a 51 per cent drop in volumes to 109 million shares and 42 per cent drop in value traded to $39.7 million.
The market volumes saw a decline of 51 per cent from the preceding session striking 108.78 million. K- Electric Limited (KEL -2.57 per cent) appeared to be the volume leader with 7.62 million shares traded. Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM -4.83 per cent) was next with 5.40 million shares exchanged. Followed by The Bank of Punjab (BOP -0.73 per cent) with 4.89 million shares, D. G. Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC -3.62 per cent) with 4.49 million shares and Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIAA +6.48 per cent) with 4.03 million shares in volume.
Commercial Banks lost steam as the sector removed 218 points from the index. Simultaneously, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies pulled the index down by 154 points.
The commercial banking sector depreciated by 1.74 per cent. Habib Bank Limited was down by 2.14 per cent as MCB Bank Limited (MCB) fell by 2.59 per cent. United Bank Limited (UBL -1.65 per cent), Bank AlFalah Limited (BAFL -2.91 per cent) and Bank AL Habib Limited (BAHL -1.56 per cent) also ended the day in red.
The sugar sector lost 1.41 per cent of its total market capitalisation. J.D.W Sugar Mills Limited (JDWS), Tandlianwala Sugar Mills Limited (TSML) and Al-Abbas Sugar Mills Limited (AABS) were down by 3.19 per cent, 1.54 per cent and 2.17 per cent respectively. Companies from the sugar sector announced their results during the day. J.D.W Sugar Mills Limited (JDWS -3.19 per cent) declared results for its third quarter of 2018. The company’s sales decreased by 26 per cent from last year’s third quarter. While it’s earning per share (EPS) declined by 6 per cent to Rs4.54.
Shahtaj Sugar Mills (SHJS) announced its 3QFY18 financial result, wherein loss per share (LPS) clocked in at Rs5.62, down from earnings per share (EPS) of Rs5.52 in the same period last year. The company booked a loss due to significant gross margin compression as the margin reduced to 1 per cent in 4QFY18 from 9 per cent in the same period last year. For the 9MFY18, the company posted LPS of Rs22.13 compared to EPS of Rs25.7 in the same period last year.
JDW Sugar Mills (JDWS) announced its 3QFY18 financial result, wherein the company recorded an EPS of Rs5.96, up from EPS of Rs3.08 in the same period last year. During the quarter, despite a decline in gross margins, the company managed to grow profits due to Rs~1.1 billion increase in other income. For the 9MFY18, the company posted EPS of Rs0.56 compared to Rs35.1 in the same period last year.
Moreover, HASCOL petroleum (HASCOL) has notified Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that the Board of Directors has authorised the company to acquire the liquefied petroleum gas plant and business of Marshal Gas (Pvt) for the purchase consideration of Rs175 million.
Thal Industries (TICL) reported its 4QFY18 result. The company’s EPS clocked in at Rs5.81 compared to Rs12.69, down by -54 per cent YoY as the gross margin fell to 0.85 per cent compared to 10.4 per cent in the same period last year. For the full year FY18, the company posted LPS of Rs3.44 compared to Rs54.98 in the same period last year.
Technically speaking, the KSE-100 index closed near intraday low albeit amid thin participation. Next resistance is at 41,222 (intraday high). Immediate support is at 40,390 (horizontal support) and then at 39,331 (intraday low from July 17).
