KARACHI: After recovering some losses in the previous session, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) fell back in the grip of bears as investors took a cautious stance amid geopolitical tensions.
Foreign investors remained net buyers for the second consecutive session on Tuesday, as a net inflow of $3.68 million was recorded with major buying in the cement sector (net inflow of $1.35 million).
The KSE-100 Index, which opened at 41,493.63, slid to its intraday low at 41,173.95 after losing 730.52 points. It closed lower by 546.91 points at 41,357.56. The KMI-30 Index declined by 641.27 points to end at 67,546.41, while the KSE All Share Index fell short by 364.90 points, closing at 29,010.85. Out of the total traded shares, only 42 advanced while 267 declined.
Sectors that added negativity to the index included banking (-147.62 points), oil & gas exploration (-77.29 points) and power generation & distribution (-61.61 points). Among the companies, Habib Bank Limited (HBL -104.21 points), Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL -49.40 points) and Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC -42.47 points) dented the index the most.
The overall trading volumes improved from 206.89 million in the previous session to 280.07 million. K-Electric Limited (KEL -3.28pc) topped the volume chart, followed by The Bank of Punjab (BOP +0.60pc) and TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG -3.62pc). The scripts had exchanged 39.46 million, 38.19 million and 11.55 million shares, respectively.
It was another tough day for the automobile assembling sector which lost -2.89pc from its cumulative market capitalisation. Indus Motor Company Limited (INDU -4.51pc), Hinopak Motors Limited (HINO -4.62pc), Ghandhara Industries Limited (GHNI -5.00pc) and Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited (HCAR -4.07pc) all closed in the red zone.
Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC -4.95pc) on Wednesday announced that it would observe four non-production days (Mondays) in the ongoing month.
Furthermore, Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SAZEW +0.13pc), in a notification sent to the exchange, disclosed its production and sales data for December 2019. According to the notification, 1,189 units were produced while only 615 units were sold.
Moreover, Honda Atlas Cars Limited (HCAR -4.07pc) has jacked up the prices of various models by Rs20,000-100,000, effective from Jan 16.
