KARACHI: The stock market ended flat in a range-bound session on Tuesday following the announcement of the monetary policy a day earlier.
The indices remained volatile throughout the day while volumes improved slightly from the previous session. Foreign investors bought shares worth $6.16 million on Monday.
On the economic front, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has left interest rates unchanged at 13.25pc (8-year high) for the next two months.
The KSE-100 Index, which opened at 32,004.33, lost 158.57 points during early hours to mark an intraday low of 31,769.98. The index then oscillated in both directions, reaching an intraday high of 32,106.19 (up by 177.64 points). It finally settled lower by 19.63 points at 31,908.92. The KMI-30 Index gained 2.05 points to close at 50,722.05, while the KSE All Share Index lost 19.17 points, ending at 23,314.98.
The overall market volumes were recorded at 122.01 million. Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +4.15pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF -0.85pc) and DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +1.80pc) remained the top picks of the day. The scripts had exchanged 16.75 million shares, 10.26 million shares and 7.32 million shares respectively.
The fertilizer (-35.84 points), cement (-30.47) and power generation and distribution (-20.64 points) sectors pulled the index in the red zone. On the other hand, Oil and gas exploration (+34.79 points), miscellaneous (+20.87 points) and banking (+17.37 points) sectors remained the top positive contributors to the index.
The management of National Foods Limited (NATF +4.09pc) announced that its holding company would make a further equity investment of Rs300 million into the company by acquiring ordinary shares from the open market. NATF jumped to its upper cap soon after the announcement.
Meanwhile, Kot Addu Power Company Limited (KAPCO -3.29pc) declared its financials for FY19. The company also announced a final cash dividend of Rs3 per share. Sales decreased by 7.71pc YoY, while earnings per share increased from Rs12.06 in FY18 to Rs14.90 in FY19.
Dolmen City REIT (DCR -0.51pc) also released its financial performance for FY19. The company recorded an 8.81pc increase in total revenue, while its earnings per share appreciated by 36.12pc, from Rs2.27 in FY18 to Rs3.09 in FY19.
