Bears pull KSE-100 index below 47,000-point mark

• Stocks fell over 370 points to close the session at 47,891.34 points on Tuesday.
• Trading volume increased from 395.8 million shares to 479.8 million.
• Shares of 525 listed companies were traded. At the end of the session, 102 stocks closed in the green, 411 in the red.

KARACHI: Bears staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 index fell below the 47,000-point mark owing to persistent depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar.

The Pakistani currency lost 85 paisas against the greenback and closed at an all-time low of Rs168.94 on Tuesday, which dented investors sentiments about the current account balance.

Furthermore, speculations regarding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) review — due later this month — on the $6 billion loan programme stopped investors from assuming fresh positions.

A host of financial results announced during the session failed to entice market participants.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the market tumbled today mainly due to redemptions at the mutual funds’ end.

“On the other hand, negative news regarding a drop in Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, US State Secretary’s hint on revisiting US–Pakistan relations and the pending IMF review had a bearing on the benchmark index,” it read.

Selling was observed across the board with technology, exploration and production, cement and steel sectors leading the downside on the index.

The benchmark KSE-100 index shed 379.12 points or 0.8% on Tuesday, to close at 46,891.34 points.

Sectors contributing to the performance included cement (-96 points), refinery (-52 points), exploration and production (-45 points), technology (-39 points) and oil and gas marketing companies (-28 points).

Meanwhile, volumes increased from 395.8 million shares to 479.8 million shares (+21% day-on-day). Average traded value, on the other hand, declined by 7% day-on-day to reach $89 million as against $95.8 million.

Individually, stocks that contributed positively to the index included HBL (+36 points), Habib Metropolitan Bank (+22 points), Fauji Fertiliser Company (+9 points), Dolmen City REIT (+6 points) and Packages Limited (+5 points). On the flip side, stocks that contributed negatively were Lucky Cement (-44 points), TRG Pakistan (-24 points), Oil and Gas Development Company (-23 points), DG Khan Cement (-19 points) and Byco Petroleum (-18 points).

During the session, shares of 525 listed companies were traded. At the end of the session, 102 stocks closed in the green, 411 in the red, and 12 remained unchanged.

Byco Petroleum was the volume leader with 71.7 million shares, losing Rs0.71 to close at Rs9.08. It was followed by Telecard Limited with 51.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.48 to close at Rs24.36, and WorldCall Limited with 25.3 million shares, losing Rs0.10 to close at Rs3.20.