Karachi stock market closed lower Tuesday amid what the analysts said consolidation in blue-chip stocks after major earning announcements. The day saw the benchmark KSE 100-share index shedding 4.44 points to close at 12,739.22 points against 12,743.66 points of the previous day. The index hit the intraday high of 12,821.22 points and then plunged to the intraday low of 12,727.39 points.
The turnover at the ready counter remained encouraging and was recorded at 217.592 million shares against 205.790 million shares of Monday. The trading value, however, contracted slightly to Rs6.209 billion from Rs6.330 billion of a day earlier. The market capitalisation also remained lower at Rs3.316 trillion against Rs3.319 trillion of the previous session. Of the total 347 scrips traded, 115 appeared as gainers, 153 losers while 79 remained unchanged. The turnover in the future contracts slid to 12.880 million shares compared to 13.234 million shares of the last trading day. “(The) stocks closed lower amid consolidation in blue-chip stocks after major earning announcements,” viewed Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Securities. “Speculations continued in banking, cements stocks on strong earnings outlook,” the analyst added. However, the analyst said, market sentiment also depended on the political situation of the country and associated foreign flows. “Our top picks for the coming week are ENGRO, FFC, FFBL, ODGC, PPL, POL and DGKC,” he said.
The cement sector led by DG Khan Cement (DGKC), the dealers said, played as a catalyst in the Monday’s bullish trend. Jahangir Siddqui Company being volume leader of the day counted its traded shares at 25.68 million each priced at Rs10.49 in the opening and Rs10.01 in the closing.
“(The) index closed near sessions-lows on concerns for falling rupee value,” Mehanti said. The concerns for government’s debt over Rs130 billion and uncertain global commodities played a catalyst role in bearish sentiments in the post major announcement sessions at KSE, he said. “The KSE100 index was unable to sustain above the resistance level of 12,767pts, as it attracted selling pressure towards the end of the session. Side board items remained as investor-favorite in the market, which is a little concern,” said Abdul Azeem, a market observer at InvestCap.
