LAHORE: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has taken a huge loss as PSX lost 707.18 points today bringing the total points down by 1488.22 in two days. This is a major blow to the Stock Exchange as KSE 100 index settled below 40,000 points. The index collapsed as soon as it opened and was soon trading below the 40,000 mark. Despite efforts to uplift the index, the bulls struggled to keep up. The Index posted an intraday low of 39,557.12 missing the 52-week low by just a mere 79 points.
“Uncertainty is worse than bad news for the market. The unclear political environment and concerns over economic matters have been contributors to the decline. Foreign investors continue to be net sellers and the end to earnings season have left no major positive triggers for investors,” said Capital Stake Director Research Maha Jafer Butt.
The benchmark index closed with a loss of 707.13 points at 39,617.19. The KMI 30 index lost another 2 per cent with a bleeding cement and oil sector. The KSE All Share Index was lower by 317.09 points with 81 advancers to 251 decliners.
The textile weaving sector was worst performer of the day which laid off 4.79 per cent from its market capitalisation. Cable & Electrical Goods was 3.45 per cent lighter, Cement 2.99 per cent.
The market volumes were not as low as yesterday, 98.71 million, but were narrow. A total of 139.44 million shares were traded during the session on Wednesday. Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL -3.56 per cent) topped the volume chart, volume 13.31 million, and marked a fresh 52-week low of Rs 58.25. K-Electric Limited (KEL -2.98 per cent), volume 10.23 million, also did the same and crumbled to its 52-week low of Rs 5.45. TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG -4.96 per cent) followed with the volume of Rs 10.11 million and marked a new low of Rs 32.34.
Atlas Honda Limited (ATLH +4.61 per cent) managed to gain despite the troubled market. The company reported sales growth of 32 per cent quarter-on-quarter. The EPS clocked at Rs 11.04 against Rs 8.32 of 2QFY17.
Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI +2.11 per cent) was amongst the few gainers. The company reported sales of Rs 9.34 billion which converted into the net profit of Rs 3.61 billion. Earnings per share stood at Rs 32.77 against Rs 25.09 in the same period last year.
A senior broker asked not to be named said that the political uncertainty is killing the market. “Investors are hesitant as they do not know what is happening anymore and the ruling party has made a joke of the country”, he added. He further added that losing 1488.22 points in two days is a major blow to the market and the politicians need to wake up otherwise the economy will suffer at their hands.
