LAHORE: It was a tough day for investors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as indices wobbled in both directions. The session started on a positive note but soon indices crumbled and took the opposite path ending the day in the red.
The KSE-100 index touched intraday high of 42,993.18 after gaining 184.52 points. Soon it rebounded and touched intraday low of 42,705.04 in the second half of the session. The index was down by 48.53 and settled at 42,760.13. The KMI 30 index managed to gain 61.92 points and ended the day at 73,462.61. Whereas, the KSE All-share index was up by 0.90 points and settled at 30,946.04. The market volume surged up by nearly 18 per cent from the last session and was recorded at 239.52 million.
Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM +2.75 per cent) remained dominant and led the market with 33.60 million shares exchanged. The script garnered investor interest after the announcement of its financial performance for 2QFY18. The company gross profit margin frog leapt from 2 per cent in SPLY to 12 per cent with a 43 per cent rise in Sales. As a result, earning per share increased to Rs0.65 from Rs0.03 in 2QFY17.
Amongst other high-volume gainers was Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +2.07 per cent) with 16.24 million shares traded and Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +4.01 per cent) with a volume of 16.10 million shares.
And those which missed out on the day included Unicap Modaraba (UCAPM) down by 12.33 per cent, Premier Insurance Limited (PINL) 11.27 per cent, Shadman Cotton (SHCM) 9.44 per cent.
The commercial banking sector lost 0.89 per cent from its cumulative market capitalisation. MCB Bank Limited (MCB -1.00 per cent), Habib Bank Limited (HBL -0.89 per cent) and United Bank Limited (UBL -1.13 per cent) closed the session in the red. While Allied Bank Limited (ABL) and Bank AlFalah Limited (BAFL) also declined by 1.39 per cent and 1.19 per cent respectively
Major gains to the KSE-100 index came from industrials (+2.55 per cent), consumer discretionary (+0.51 per cent) and materials (0.36 per cent) thanks to PIBTL (+7.74 per cent), PAEL (+2.07 per cent), INDU (+3.41 per cent), LUCK (+2.05 per cent), DGKC (+3.63 per cent), FCCL (+4.01 per cent) and MLCF (+4.53 per cent). Moreover, additional gains to the KSE-100 index came from ICI (+3.62 per cent), POL (+0.51 per cent) and CHCC (+3.36 per cent).
On the flip side, financials (-0.87 per cent), healthcare (-0.75 per cent) and utilities (-0.28 per cent) weighed down on investor sentiment amid profit taking in HBL (-0.89 per cent), UBL (-1.13 per cent), MCB (-1 per cent), SHFA (-5 per cent) and HUBC (-0.82 per cent). Additional drag came from DAWH (-3.10 per cent), ENGRO (-1.01 per cent) and FFC (-0.79 per cent) amid profit taking in fertilizers following their recent run-up.
In related news, Exxon Mobil has bought a block in Pakistan for deep sea drilling off the Indus Delta. While drilling has not yet started, as depths are very intense, Exxon Mobil remains “very hopeful” of success in discovering a big cache of oil. Moreover, OGDC has discovered oil and gas (95 barrels of crude oil and 0.25 mcf/d of gas after being drilled down 5,070 meters) at the development well 05 in Kohat, western Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Market participation for the KSE-100 index increased to 129.18 million shares from 76.54 million in the previous session (+68.78 per cent). Major contribution to total market volume came from LOTCHEM (+2.75 per cent), PAEL (+2.07 per cent) and FCCL (+4.01 per cent) churning 65.7 million shares out of the All Share volume of 239.51 million shares. Daily traded value for the KSE-100 index increased to $62.35 million from $41.15 million in the previous session (+51.51 per cent); DGKC ($10.84 million), PAEL ($5.44 million) and LUCK ($4.55 million) were among top contributors from traded value perspective.
Major contribution to the KSE-100 index upside came from LUCK (+2.05 per cent), DGKC (+3.63 per cent), PIBTL (+7.74 per cent), FCCL (+4.01 per cent) and MLCF (+4.53 per cent) adding 97 points. On the flip side, DAWH (-3.10 per cent), HBL (-0.89 per cent) and ENGRO (-1.01 per cent) took away 72 points. The KSE-100 index is 13 per cent above its 52-week low of 37,736.73 reached on December 12, 2017, and 9.3 per cent below its 52-week high of 47,144.12 reached on April 6, 2018.
Technically speaking, the KSE-100 index closed on a reactive and indecisive note as it met stiff resistance at 200EMA (42,974). Immediate support is at 42,109 (50EMA) and the rising trend line (42,450). Next resistance is 43,639 (previous week’s high).
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