The week started with news of Osama’s killing in Abbotabad forces in an unprecedented raid. For the general public, it was incomprehensible that the US forces conducted such an operation on Pakistani soil without informing intelligence agencies, army and the current political regime in Pakistan. The current scenario indicates that the Pakistani government was providing cover to the most wanted terrorist and most of the international opponents have started to point fingers on the already crises-hit country.
As the event unfolded, the stock market sentiment was largely impacted by the geo-political situation, as investors preferred to liquidate their investments and stay at bay. The index shed around 385 points by mid week, but support statements from the US provided some hope to investors as they reverted back sharply towards investment on Thursday. The war of word and speculation from media has complicated the situation; hence clarity from both governments is extremely important.
Osama’s killing has had its impact on global markets and major commodities including crude oil and gold in the international market. The stock market inflow of $18.26 million during the week was unable to support the market. It is odd that investment worth $12.16 million on Friday alone.
Furthermore, news related to JS group and their financial constraint impacted the share prices, but ANL came back strongly later in the week to recover some lost ground. A close eye on the KSE-100 companies shows that 79 percent traded in the red zone, while merely 18 percent posted gains. Among the major gainers, majority of the stock posted gains in range of two to 0.6 percent, enough evidence of how weak the market sentiment was during the week.