Political unrest in Karachi continued to weigh down upon the local bourse for a fourth consecutive trading session. Volumes were restricted to 31.6 million shares as the index nosedived 98 points to finish at 12,291 points. The KSE 100 index closed at 12,291.90 levels with a loss of 98.22 points.
Total volume stood at 25,546,269 along with total value of 1,306,655,904. In the fertilizer sector Engro suffered due to shortage of gas at Qadirpur gas field which supplies gas to Engro’s EnVen plant. With no end in sight for the political unrest in the county the only hope for markets to gain some momentum is a corporate bonanza. The US’s decision of withholding $800 million military aid, pending release of remaining tranche from IMF and the current law and order situation has left the participants beleaguered.
High priced stocks struggled to sustain prevailing valuations despite propagations regarding upcoming results. Dead volumes increased anxiety among traders forcing the benchmark to wipe off 100 points. With limited options equity specific funds looked for bargains in stocks and sectors that were likely to escape various pressures being exerted from macro and micro orbits. Hasnain Asghar Ali at Aziz Fidahusein said that caution is advised.
