KARACHI: In line with the previous session, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw volatile activity on Tuesday, with the indices swaying in both directions before ending in the negative zone.
Global equity markets, on the other hand, displayed a positive trend, whereas crude oil prices headed north from the previous close; WTI crude price surging 1.91pc to $37.97 while Brent crude price increasing 1.85pc to $37.95.
“The market opened on a positive note and maintained the momentum for the most part, but selling pressure in the final hour pushed the index down to the red,” said a report issued by AHL Ltd. “Profit booking continued from the previous session; investors have generally been switching positions from stocks that have nearly doubled from their recent bottoms (cement) into stocks that have had muted performance (banks and oil marketing).”
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 Index swung in both directions on Tuesday, registering its intraday high at 42,831.01 (+299.70 points) and intraday low at 42,263.22 (-268.09 points). It ended lower by 184.89 points at 42,594.98.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index lost 224.31 points to close at 67,600.74, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 73.20 points, settling at 30,159.46.
The overall market volumes jumped from 509.52 million shares in the previous session to 662.80 million shares (+30pc). Average traded value also increased by 28pc, from $87.5 million to $111.9 million. Hascol Petroleum Ltd (HASCOL -1.04pc) K-Electric Ltd (KEL +0.49pc) and Byco Petroleum Ltd (BYCO +4.19pc) topped the volume chart, exchanging 63.86 million, 54.04 million, and 42.62 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that dragged the benchmark index to the red zone included banking (-64.20 points), fertiliser (-50.98 points) and investment banking (-25.25 points). Among the companies, Engro Corporation Ltd (ENGRO -39.12 points), Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd (DAWH -22.42 points) and United Bank Ltd (UBL -21.03 points) dented the index the most.
Losing -2.07pc from its cumulative market capitalisation, the technology and communication sector ended as the session’s top loser, with Avanceon Ltd (AVN -7.40pc), NetSol Technologies Ltd (NETSOL -4.13pc) and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTC -0.93pc) posting significant losses.
On the financial side, Avanceon Ltd (AVN -7.40pc) announced earnings per share of Rs0.31 for the second quarter of FY20 (Rs1.38 in 2QFY19), while Bolan Castings Ltd (BCL -6.97pc) declared an EPS of Rs-23.68 for FY20 (Rs-20.83 in FY19).
