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Tuesday December 03, 2024

Stocks cut a flat figure on political fears

By Our Correspondent
December 09, 2020

Stocks on Tuesday saw another dull session mostly because of political uncertainties that deterred fresh investment; however, some select stocks grabbed a good deal of gains that kept the losses in check, dealers said.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 shares index lost 0.03 percent or 13.53 points to close at 42,101.78 points, while volumes increased to 409.741 million shares, as compared with the turnover of 380.497 million shares in the previous session.

KSE-30 shares index ticked up by 0.04 percent or 7.43 points to end at 17,633.31 points.

Topline Securities in a note said the market continued to remain choppy as concerns over PDM (Pakistan Democratic Alliance) meeting amid lower oil prices held the gains on a tight leash.

“Cement sector hit the limelight following news reports that five new plants are expected to come online soon to cater to increased demand. MLCF (Maple Leaf

Cement Factory Ltd) closed the day up 4 percent,” the brokerage said.

Pakistan Democratic Movement chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has given all opposition parliamentarians till December 31 to submit their resignations to their party heads, which if it happens, will only add to the country’s political instability.

Salman Ahmad, head of institutional sales at Aba Ali Habib Securities, said stocks had been

under pressure for the last couple of sessions because of the political developments, especially

calls from opposition parties to stage protest against the government.

“The index suffered trimming due to political issues, otherwise there were a number of positive triggers that could have easily converted this negativity into positivity,” Ahmad added.

Trading activity was recorded in 383 active scrips, of which 160 closed on the higher side, 201 could not hold on to gains, and 22 ended the day as they had started it.

Faizan Munshey, associate director at KASB Securities, said equities closed flat after oscillating between positive and negative zones throughout the day.

Furthermore, investors were seen concerned about the rising COVID-19 cases in the country as well as political noise ahead of the PDM meeting, Munshey added.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation said the capital market closed lower amid pressure in oil stocks owing to falling global crude oil prices and uncertainty in global equities.

He said cement and banking stocks outperformed on upbeat data for cement dispatches in November 2020 at 4.5 million tons, surging by 4 percent year-on-year and higher banking deposits.

“Investor concerns over rupee instability, rising trade deficit and foreign outflows resulted in a bearish close at the apex bourse, Mehanti added.

Sapphire Textile, up Rs54.90 to close at Rs985.00/share, and Phillip Morris Pakistan, strengthening by Rs50 to finish at Rs1,460.00/share, emerged as the best gainers of the day.

Nestle Pakistan, down Rs150 to close at Rs6,600/share, and Rafhan Maize, losing Rs100 to close at Rs8,800/share, ended the day with highest losses.

Maple Leaf Cement led volumes with 31,696 million shares. The scrip gained Rs1.71 to end at Rs41.88/share.

Telecard Limited posted the lowest turnover with 9.372 million shares, and gained Rs0.2 to end at Rs2.04/share.