- KSE-100 Index lost 1,007.68 points or -2.71pc in the outgoing week
KARACHI: Continuing with the downfall, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended the last session of the week in the red zone. Indices failed to recover losses while volumes remain a cause of concern for brokers. Foreign investors closed as net buyers on Thursday with a net inflow of $0.072 million.
On the economic front, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declined by 2.43pc on a weekly basis and were recorded at $8.8 billion. The decline was mainly attributed to payments on account of external debt servicing and other official payments.
Local sentiments on Friday took a back seat amid concerns on upcoming budgetary measures and uncertainty on market performance in the backdrop of an economic slowdown.
Analysts expect the market to show heightened volatility this month, starting with the onset of Ramadan (reduced trading hours), followed by the conclusion of staff level parleys with the International Monetary Fund, announcement of MSCI review scheduled for 13th May, federal budget and Financial Action Task Force’s review on Pakistan’s latest compliance report.
Slipping by 476.53 points, the KSE 100 index benchmark reached its day’s low of 36,071.10. It settled lower by 424.68 points at 36,122.95. The KMI 30 index declined by 971.02 points to close at 57,879.78, while the KSE All Share index fell short by 289.34 points to end at 26,537.79.
The market volumes further deteriorated from 67.92 million in the preceding session to 64.23 million. Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -0.72pc) topped the volume chart with 9.06 million shares exchanging hands, followed by Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL -1.27pc) and The Bank of Punjab (BOP -2.58pc). The scripts had traded 3.17 million shares and 3.04 million shares respectively.
Daily traded value for the KSE-100 Index increased to $18.27 million from $15.62 million in the previous session (-16.96pc). The Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC $2.38 million), Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK $1.66 million) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO $0.99 million) were among top contributors in terms of traded value.
Major contributions to the 100 Index downside came from Habib Bank Limited (HBL -2.93pc), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL -2.74pc), Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL -3.16pc), Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC -1.71pc) and Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO -1.49pc), taking away -211pts. On the flip side, Bank Al-Habib Limited (BAHL +1.01pc), Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMC +5.00pc) and Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited (COLG +2.54pc) added 25 points.
For the outgoing week, the 100 Index lost 1,007.68 points (-2.71pc) with main contribution to the downside coming from PPL (-6.06pc), OGDC (-4.56pc) and POL (-6.45pc), taking away 293 points.
