KARACHI: The outgoing week witnessed a slight upward correction at the local bourse following a selling rampage over the last few weeks as value buyers jumped in to take positions ahead of the corporate results season, though most investors still remain sidelined from the market amidst political uncertainty. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) kept policy rate intact at 5.75 percent on Saturday and it is likely to remain a non-event as the market had consensus largely pointing towards a status quo. AKD Research’s analyst said with Supreme Court reserving verdict on Panama leaks case, we expect investors to adopt a cautious stance until the final judgment. Result season, commencing next week, is likely to guide market sentiments with scrips in key sectors (power, cements and autos) to remain in limelight on anticipated full year payouts. KSE-100 Index gained 937 points or WoW 2.1 percent week-on-week (WoW) to reach 45,274 points albeit with low volumes, which were down 23 percent WoW, as the market participants remained on the sidelines awaiting the conclusion on the Supreme Court proceedings. The weekly market volumes reached 134 million shares, driven by sideboard stocks including TRG with 51 million, Engro Polymer Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited (EPCL) with 35 million and K-Electric with 32 million leading the volume charts. The participants were driven by value hunting with Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), United Bank Limited (UBL) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) adding the most to the index contributing 100 points, 69 points and 66 points respectively. The biggest loser of the week was Engro loosing 229 points as the company fell short of market expectations with respect to their board meeting. The market remained positive on the back of net buying from insurance companies and Banks/DFI with a net inflow of 9 million and $ 0.7 million, respectively. Amidst the political turmoil caused by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) proceedings, individuals and foreigners remained net sellers with $5.7 million and $2.0 million outflows, respectively. “With the Supreme Court reserving its decision on ongoing Panama case, market is likely to remain volatile amidst thin participation. We believe that trading activity will pick up once the final judgment is announced; in fact, even the upcoming result season may even go in the back seat till the final judgment is announced”, said Elixir Research’s analyst. Published in Daily Times, July 23rd 2017.