KARACHI: Stocks closed lower by 635 points on Wednesday as investors booked profits in political uncertainty and cautious activity ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s policy announcement.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index closed lower by 634.94 points or 0.8 per cent to 78,651.80 points against 79,286.74 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 79,507.18 points while the lowest level was recorded at 78,612.17 points.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed sharply lower on political uncertainty and cautious activity ahead of the SBP’s policy announcement.”He said that weak global equities; uncertainty over legislation ahead of privatization of SOEs; and concerns over terms of the new IMF programme, putting a bar on new SEZs, played a catalyst role in the bearish close.
The KSE-30 index decreased by 256.33 points or 1.02 per cent to 24,816.91 points against 25,073.24 points.Traded shares rose by 23 million shares to 532.732 million shares from 509.490 million shares. The trading value increased to Rs14.735 billion from Rs13.763 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs10.47 trillion against Rs10.53 trillion. Of the 439 companies active in the session, 178 closed in green, 206 in red and 55 remained unchanged.
Ali Najib, an analyst at Topline Securities, said equities moved in both directions as bullish and bearish forces confronted throughout the session to take the helm at the PSX. However, bears emerged as a winner as the KSE 100 index called the day at 78,652 levels (-635 points; down 0.8 per cent).
Investors booked profits in selective stocks of the E&P, bank and fertilizer sectors. Resultantly, MARI, BAHL, MCB, MEBL & EFERT lost 315 points, cumulatively. On the flip side, OGDC, DAWH and PAEL collectively added 54 points as they witnessed some buying interest in them.
The highest increase was recorded in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which rose by Rs23.01 to Rs17,392 per share, followed by Bata Pakistan Limited, which increased by Rs18.54 to Rs1,658.96 per share. A significant decline was noted in Hallmark Company Limited, which fell by Rs93.03 to Rs906.93 per share; Mari Petroleum Company Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs82.86 to Rs3,586.20 per share.
Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that the KSE-100’s inability to sustain the 79k level raises concerns for the near-term outlook.
MLCF (-3.03 per cent) reported FY24 EPS of Rs6.58, a 19 per cent increase year-on-year, with 4QFY24 EPS coming in at Rs1.45 compared to a loss per share of Re0.39 in the same period last year.
Attention now shifts to the SBP’s monetary policy meeting on September 12, where market consensus expects a 150bps rate cut. Failure to recapture the 79k level could dampen expectations of a move towards 80k.
WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 80.93 million shares which closed lower by 2 paisas to Rs1.5 per share. Pak Elektron followed it with 42.596 million shares, which closed higher by Rs1.17 to Rs26.85 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included Waves Home App, Kohinoor Spinning, Secure Logistics Gro, Cnergyico PK, Pace (Pak) Ltd, Hum Network, Symmetry Group Ltd and Agritech Limited.In the futures market, 333 companies recorded trading, of which 114 increased, 209 decreased and 10 remained unchanged.