KARACHI: Bearish sentiments surrounded the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 nosediving over 1,100 points intraday.
Foreign investors changed their course and closed the previous session (Monday) as net buyers, registering a net outflow of $4.28 million.
“Concerns raised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that ‘Islamabad had not made an official request to G20 countries for payment relaxation’, besides hinting higher than expected inflation caused the market to panic,” said an analyst at Arif Habib Ltd. “In addition, the onslaught on WTI and Brent prices in the international market kept the bears active in oil & gas scrips, with major players hovering around lower circuit breakers.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country surged by 92pc YoY in March 2020 despite a rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan and around the world. However, on a monthly basis, it declined by 3.46pc.
The KSE-100 Index remained in the red throughout the session, marking its intraday low at 32,300.73 after losing 1,198.92 points. It ended lower by 1,076.82 points at 32,422.83.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index plunged 2,544.91 points to close at 51,576.63, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 583.26 points, settling at 22,881.87. Of the total traded shares, 65 advanced and 230 declined.
The overall trading volumes surged from 283.15 million in the previous session to 338.66 million, with Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF -0.96pc), Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL -4.15pc) and Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL -7.48pc) topping the volume chart. The scrips had exchanged 59.61 million, 24.21 million and 22.09 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that drove the index south included oil & gas exploration (-288.45 points), fertiliser (-175.47 points) and power generation & distribution (-135.57 points).
On the financial side, Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited (PIBTL -5.17) announced earnings per share of Rs-0.11 for the third quarter of FY20 as compared to Rs0.26 in the same period last year, Interloop Limited (ILP -3.98pc) posted an EPS of Rs0.72 (Rs1.45 in 3QFY19), while Rafhan Maize Products Limited (RMPL -4.87pc) recorded an EPS of Rs136.20 for 1QFY20 (Rs117.54 in 1QFY19).
