KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the first day of the week on a positive note, following the finance minister’s visit to the exchange on Saturday. However, after initial gains, the market witnessed volatility and dipped into the red, settling the day lower.
The KSE 100 index gathered 353.60 points to reach an intraday high of 38,783.87. The index then lost 165.66 points and touched intraday low of 38,264.61. It then settled lower by 84.85 points at 38,345.42. The KMI 30 index declined by 459.94 points to end the session at 64,901.95, while the KSE All Share index fell short by 44.76 points to settle at 28,377.95.
Trading volumes were recorded at 235.36 million. TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +4.10 per cent), The Bank of Punjab (BOP +2.52 per cent) and Nimir Resins Limited (NRSL +2.45 per cent) were the top traded stocks on Monday. The scripts had exchanged 15.81 million, 14.52 million and 11.99 million shares respectively.
The tobacco sector lost 2.81 per cent from its cumulative market capitalization. Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited (PAKT -5.00 per cent), largest script on the exchange by market capitalization, touched its lower-lock, whereas Philip Morris Pakistan Limited (PMPK) and Khyber Tobacco Company Limited (KHTC) were up by 3.39 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SAZEW -0.86 per cent) declared its financial performance for the first quarter of Financial Year 2018-19 (1QFY19). The company’s quarterly sales declined by 9 per cent, whereas the earning per share depreciated from Rs1.74 in the same period last year to Rs1.36 in the current year.
Nishat Power Limited (NPL +2.32 per cent) announced its financial results for 1QFY19. Sales appreciated by 28 per cent QoQ. The earning per share, on the other hand, improved from Rs2.429 in the same period last year to Rs2.779 in the current year. The company’s finance cost spiked up by 21 per cent QoQ, whereas the cost of sales increased by a massive 33 per cent.
