LAHORE: The Pakistan Stock Exchange for the second consecutive day failed to make a mark. The indices shed gains from the beginning of the session. Investors continued to stay on the sidelines and market volumes remained thin. Foreign investors ended the session on Wednesday with a net outflow of $3.88 million with the cement and commercial banking sectors having felt the major blow.
The KSE 100 touched an intraday low at 41,223.56 after losing 397.40 points. The index depreciated by 354.57 points and ended the session at 41,266.39.
The KMI 30 index was down by 1.48 per cent. The index fell short by 1,030.20 points and settled at 69,650.41.
The KSE All Share index declined by 290.81 points and ended at 30,288.66.
The market volume saw an increase of 26 per cent from the last session and was recorded at 159.68 million.
The Bank of Punjab (BOP +2.75 per cent) was clear volume leader of the day with 43.28 million shares exchanged. This was followed by Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited (EPCL +0.54 per cent) and Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM -0.22 per cent). The scripts had 6.66 million and 6.60 million shares traded respectively.
Matco Foods Limited (MFL -4.99 per cent) announced its financial performance FY18. Sales swelled up by 12 per cent compared to the previous year but gross profit margins failed the rise. Higher costs pulled down both operating and pre-tax margins. A massive cut down in taxation by 60 per cent helped improve per-share earnings from Rs2.73 to Rs3.13. The management also approved a final cash dividend of Rs0.40 per share with a 5 per cent bonus issue in addition to the interim cash dividend of Rs0.30 per share.
Shield Corporation Limited (SCL +3.67 per cent) also released its financial performance for the Year Ending 30 June 2018. The company declared a final cash dividend of Rs3.50 per share. Sales were up by a slight 1 per cent YoY while the cost of sales had a decline of 2 per cent YoY. The company managed to reduce its selling and distribution expenses along with administrative expenses and was able to increase the earning per share from Rs12.46 to Rs17.41 (an increase of 40 per cent YoY).
