Bears continued to prevail on the Karachi stocks market where the benchmark KSE 100-share index further plunged by 133.03 points or 1.13 per cent on account of international and domestic negatives.
The market analysts believe that decline in global stocks and commodities on concerns for US economic growth and European debt crises coupled with the investors’ cautiousness towards the State Bank’s discount rate announcement due at the month end kept shattering the investors’ confidence.
The day saw the benchmark, KSE 100-share index, dipping to 11,633.97 points as against 11,767.00 points of the previous day. The intraday high and low were recorded, respectively, at 11,836.21 and 11,622.40 points.
“Bearish activity prevailed at KSE amid thin trade,” said Ahsan Mehanti, a director at Arif Habib Investments. The trading volumes could make a slight recovery to 33.565 million shares after falling to a record low of 28.368 million on Tuesday. The trading value also lost its face and contracted to Rs1.2 billion compared to Tuesday’s Rs1.3 billion. The market capitalisation amounted to Rs3.02 trillion against Rs3.061 trillion of a day earlier. In total 310 scrips were traded, of which 69 gained, 159 declined and 82 remained unchanged. Mehanti said the bearish trend continued to negatively affect sentiments of the risk-averse investors in view of the falling global stocks and commodities on the United States and European debt fears. “Stocks closed lower broadly as global stocks and commodities fell on concerns for US economic growth and Europe debt crises,” the analyst said. Mehanti said the rumours dominated the market sentiment that ended on cautious note ahead of SBP policy announcement later next week. Bank Al-Falah was the volume leader of the day counting its traded shares at 3.307 million at the highest per share rate of Rs12.14. The bank’s share price opened at Rs11.90 and closed at Rs11.95.
Other scrips found place among the top 10 best traded included Azgard Nine, Lotte PakPTA, TRG Pakistan, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim, Fauji Fertilizer XD, Fatima Fertilizer Company, National Bank of Pakistan, Nishat Mills XD and P.T.C.L.A. These scrips recorded their traded shares, respectively, at 2.2 million, 2.0 million, 1.9 million, 1.8 million, 1.6 million, 1.3 million, 1.2 million, 1.1 million and 1.0 million.
The turnover at future market, however, remained positive and totaled at 6.429 million shares against the previous 6.1153 million shares. The futures scrips that were rated plus, numbered 15, whereas 123 were minus and 2 remained unchanged. ANL-DEC appeared as a volume leader on the future market having 0.848 million of its shares traded during the day. “Limited foreign interest and institutional consolidation in blue chip stocks played a catalyst role in bearish close at KSE,” Mehanti concluded.
