KARACHI: Following the massive decline a day ago, the stock market extended its fall, though at a slower pace on Tuesday, with the indices failing to hold on to early gains amid weak investor sentiment.
Global equity markets also showed a negative trend, whereas crude oil prices appreciated further from the previous close; WTI crude price rising 1.02pc to $62.34 while Brent crude price increasing 0.87pc to $64.92 (as at 4:00pm PST).
“Reminiscent of yesterday, the index failed to maintain the positive momentum and closed in the red. Banking, cement, oil & gas marketing sectors continued their downtrend following the announcement of half yearly/annual results. Exploration & production sector, on the other hand, remained positive on the back of an uptrend in international crude prices. Technology stocks closed in the red despite posting significant gains in early trade,” a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read.
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 Index moved in a narrow range on Tuesday, registering its intraday high at 46,083.66 (+193.62 points) and low at 45,663.03 (-227.01 points). It settled lower by 161.29 points at 45,728.75.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index gained 37.40 points to end at 75,937.72, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 21.38 points, closing at 31,626.19.
The overall market volumes fell from 721.95 million shares in the previous session to 717.40 million shares (0.5pc). Worldcall Telecom (WTL +5.81pc), Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd (BYCO -5.01pc) and Media Times Ltd (MDTL +8.24pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 84.27 million, 70.37 million and 55.44 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that kept the benchmark index in the red included technology & communication (-112.74 points), banking (-75.65 points) and oil & gas marketing (-30.59 points). Among the companies, TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -103.08 points), Habib Bank Ltd (HBL -54.68 points) and Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd (-19.24 points) dented the index the most.
Shedding 2.79pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the tech & communication sector ended as the session’s worst performer, with TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -5.70pc), Systems Ltd (SYS -1.08pc) and NetSol Technologies Ltd (NETSOL 0.58pc) closing in the negative.
On the financial side, Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd (BYCO -5.01pc) declared earnings per share Rs0.10 for 2QFY21 (Rs0.12 last year), whereas Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (PAKT +1.29pc) posted an EPS of Rs64.55 for FY20 (Rs50.45 in FY19).
