Stocks close lower amid political, economic uncertainty

Stocks closed lower on the first day of the week on Monday as political uncertainty and further delay in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme kept investors on the sideline, traders said.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index closed lower by 213.75 points or 0.53 percent to stand at 39,835.90 points against 40,049.65 points recorded in the last session.

Intraday high was 40,183.81 points, while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 39,815.57 points. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks fell across the board on political noise and speculations over delay in IMF loan agreement.” A slump in the rupee, and concerns about economic uncertainty played a catalytic role in the bearish close, he added.

KSE-30 index also decreased by 81.82 points or 0.55 percent to 14,833.18 points compared with 14,915 points recorded in the last session.

Volumes dropped by 30 million shares to 105.892 million shares from 135.135 million shares in the last session, whereas value decreased to Rs1.835 billion from Rs3.201 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs6.065 trillion from Rs6.093 trillion. Out of 297 companies active in the session, 104 closed in green, 174 in red and 19 remained unchanged.

Analyst Muhammad Arbash of Topline Securities said equities closed negative where the benchmark index settled at 39,835 level (down 0.53 percent). “Uncertain economic and political conditions led the market to witness range-bound activity with low volumes,” he said.

Systems Limited, Habib Bank Limited, Hubco, Oil and Gas Development Company and Pakistan Petroleum Limited were the major decliners in the trading session, which cumulatively dented the index by 108 points.

The highest increase was recorded in the shares of Khyber Textile, up Rs39.80 to close at Rs570.52/share, followed by Murree Brewery, up Rs14.85 to close at Rs334.85/share. A significant decline was noted in the shares of Sapphire Fiber, down Rs75.55 to end at Rs942.33/share, followed by Pakistan Services, down Rs66.06 to end at Rs825.55/share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said a mixed session was recorded at the PSX to kick off the business week. “The market opened in the green zone, but lack of investor involvement drove the index down into the red zone, where it remained for the rest of the trading session, swinging in both directions and eventually closing in the red,” it reported. “Investors chose to stay on the sidelines due to the ongoing delay in IMF negotiations.”

Volumes in the mainboard dried up, while third-tier companies continued to dominate the volume board. Sectors contributing to the performance included cement (-39.0 points), E&P’s (-37.2 points), miscellaneous (-34.9 points), technology and communication (-33.8 points), and commercial banks (-27.2 points).

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 34.131 million shares, which closed higher by one paisa to stand at Rs1.19/share. It was followed by JS Bank Ltd with 10.396 million shares, which closed higher by 37 paisas to stand at Rs4.46/share.

Other significant turnover stocks included K-Electric Ltd, Telecard Limited, Fauji Cement, Bank Al-Falah, Maple Leaf, International Steel Ltd, Silk Bank Ltd and Haseeb Waqas Sugar. Turnover in the future contracts decreased to 16.336 million shares from 32.524 million shares previously.