KARACHI: The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) was range-bound on Monday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the Eid holidays and also amid proposed increases in taxation.
However, news about the surprise package likely to be announced by the US, kept hopes alive and lifted spirits. The benchmark KSE-100 Index went up by 36 points to close at the 10,909 level.
Even though expectations of a waiver of Pakistan’s debt seem far-fetched, the remote possibility also had a tonic effect. Still, volumes plummeted to 65 million shares, down 34 percent from Friday. Second tier stocks dominated volumes with the JSCL ending the day as the leader of the pack with 8.3 million shares traded.
The KSE-30 Index closed at 10531.01 after gaining 69.38 points and the all-share index closed at 7607.72 after gaining 25.61 points. Out of a total of 398 scrips, 226 advanced, 149 declined and 23 remain unchanged. Market capitalisation stood at Rs 2,981.72 billion and the total ready market value stood at Rs 2.40 billion. The KSE future volume shares stood at 2 million and the KSE future value stood at Rs 190.16 million. The KSE future spread stood at 6.34 percent.
The short trading began slowly with investors unwilling to invest before the long weekend, as the index moved up by 35 points with low volumes. Short-term traders preferred to remain dormant or tried to offload their short term investments.
On the contrary, fund managers preferred remaining long with their investments and continued their hunt for valuable stocks. The performance of index-heavy stocks dominated the index performance or safeguarded the index from moving into the red zone.
The tussle between members and the SECP drags on over the issue of appointment of the new chairman. The interior minister’s request for the waiver of Pakistan’s liability amounting to $50 billion was also a major talking point.
The oil sector stocks buttressed the index’s performance with the OGDC and the PPL moving upwards, followed by POL and PSO. The fertiliser stocks were also buoyant, as the FFC, the FFBL and Engro attracted ample investor interest.
Banks were poor performers and trading of the top five banking stocks was subdued. Hubco in contrast, attracted ample investor interest as the stock moved up with greater volumes. It is believed that investors are likely to start active participation after the holidays.
