KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued profit-taking and witnessed a huge bearish activity, as the benchmark KSE-100 index plunged by 2,003 points amid institutional selling, as talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were not according to the market expectations.
The KSE-100 plunged by 2,002.56 points, or 1.69 per cent, to 116,439.62 points, down from 118,442.18 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 118,797.7 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 116,257.52 points.
Ahsan Mehanti, an analyst at Arif Habib Corp, said that stocks closed sharply lower amid institutional selling in scrips across the board amid reports of IMF disapproval on slashing property sector transactions rates and lowering of March 25 tax targets amid revenue collection shortfall.
He said that the higher Kibor and reports of the IMF’s disapproval of the reduction in industrial power tariff played a catalyst role in the bearish close. The KSE-30 index decreased by 672.48 points 1.85 per cent to 35,703.04 points against 36,375.52 points.
Traded shares dropped by 58 million shares to 311.97 million shares against 369.119 million shares. The trading value decreased to Rs20.953 billion from Rs23.273 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs14.182 trillion against Rs14.398 trillion. Of the 468 companies active in the session, 124 closed in green, 266 in red and 78 remained unchanged.
Analyst Naveed Nadeem at Topline Securities said the KSE-100 index ended in the red, closing at 116,440 points, down by 2,003 points (-1.69 per cent). “The market faced downward pressure due to IMF concerns over the lack of adjustments to electricity tariffs and no reduction in property taxes, as reported in the news,” he said. “Additionally, the proposed increase in royalty for cement manufacturers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) contributed to the negative sentiment.”
The decline was primarily driven by OGDC, ENGRO, FFC, PPL and MARI, which exerted downward pressure, pulling the index down by 811 points. The highest increase was recorded in Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which rose by Rs57.07 to Rs9,157.07 per share, followed by Hoechst Pakistan Limited, which increased by Rs47.98 to Rs3,297.98 per share. A significant decline was noted in Service Industries Limited, which fell by Rs82.56 to Rs1,318.43 per share; Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs40.05 to Rs23,525.5 per share.
Muhammad Hasan Ather, an analyst at JS Global, said profit-taking continued at the PSX at the start of the week. The session was primarily led by oil and fertiliser sector stocks. “Moving forward, while profit-taking is expected to continue, we advise investors to view any dip as a buying opportunity, particularly in the oil and gas, cement, and technology sectors,” he advised.
Pak Elektron remained the volume leader with 28.623 million shares, which closed lower by Rs2.31 to Rs45.87 per share. Cnergyico PK, with 19.218 million shares, followed it, which closed lower by 4 paisas to Rs7.94 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included TRG Pak Ltd, Sui South Gas, Pak Int Bulk, Pak Refinery, K-Elektric Ltd, Treet Corp, Fauji Cement and Bunnys Limited. In the futures market, 321 companies recorded trading, 55 of which increased, 260 decreased and 6 remained unchanged.