KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday declined sharply, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding over 800 intraday to fall below 45,000 mark.
“Bears dominated the bourse today, as increase in leverage levels from Rs35 billion level (across MTS, MFS and Futures) on March 12 to Rs41 billion on March 17 reignited the issue of overleveraging at a time when key economic decisions are pending on account of monetary policy as well as withdrawal of tax exemptions. Selling was observed across the board, with cement, steel, refinery and tech stocks contributing to the onslaught,” a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read.
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 endured a volatile session on Thursday, registering its intraday high at 45,612.95 (+162.64 points) and low at 44,641.49 (-808.82 points). It settled lower by 726.22 points at 44,724.09.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index plunged 1,310.40 points to end at 73,599.87, while the KSE All Share Index dropped 402.31 points, closing at 30,655.84.
The overall market volumes appreciated from 510.36 million shares in the previous session to 553.99 million shares (+8pc). Average traded value, however, declined 5pc, to $153.3 million as against $160.4 million. Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd (BYCO -0.59pc), K-Electric Ltd (KEL +0.49pc) and TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -6.29pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 57.88 million, 49.49 million and 39.22 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that drove the benchmark index south included technology & communication (-118.59 points), banking (-115.12 points) and oil & gas exploration (-89.30 points). Among the companies, TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -103.56 points), Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd (PSO -35.64 points) Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL -34.69 points) dented the index the most.
Shedding 4.23pc from its cumulative market capitalization, the refinery sector ended as the session’s worst performer, with Attock Refinery Ltd (ATRL -5.57pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL -5.83pc) and National Refinery Ltd (NRL -7.50pc) posting significant losses.
Meanwhile, in a notification to the exchange, Sazgar Engineering Works Ltd (SAZEW -3.82pc) announced that the company has sought relevant government authorities’ approval for manufacturing/assembly, sales and after sales service of passenger and commercial vehicles under brand GWM “HAVAL”.
Also, Philip Morris Pakistan Ltd (PMPK 0.00pc) announced its financial performance for FY20. The company’s sales appreciated 24.46pc YoY, pushing the gross profit up 54pc. Earnings per share improved from Rs32.15 in FY19 to Rs16.76.
