Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned bearish on Thursday due to escalating tensions between Iran and Pakistan, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing 364.93 points (-0.57 percent) to close at 63,202.40 points.

The market opened on a negative note and remained in the red territory throughout the session. In a statement issued early in the morning, Pakistan said it has struck terrorist hideouts in Iran’s Siestan-o-Baluchistan province. Earlier, Iran on Tuesday launched attacks in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan, Iranian state media reported, prompting strong condemnation from Islamabad and downgrading of diplomatic ties.

However, the market experienced a modest recovery from the low of 1,038 points by gaining back around 673 points by the end of the session. The recovery was supported by robust current account numbers, the rollover of debt from the UAE, and a tranche release by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to experts, border tensions with Iran affected investor sentiment, offsetting positives on the external account. They said if this issue does not escalate further, the market should find some support especially as the result season is near. They anticipated a diplomatic resolution to the issue, adding 0.57 percent decline on the downside is not indicative of panic among investors.

The benchmark index traded in a range of 1,051.41 points, showing an intraday high of 63,579.96 points and an intraday low of 62,528.55 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 254.98 points (-0.60 percent) to close at 42,813.54 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 248.19 points (-0.80 percent) to close at 31,082.93 points.

Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 13.95 million shares to 235.31 million shares against 249.26 million traded in the previous session. However, the overall market volumes increased by 24.47 million shares to 445.80 million shares against 421.33 million shares traded a session earlier.

Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 59.72 million shares, followed by PIAA (40.43 million) and WTL (35.39 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, PIAA, WTL, HAACOL, and PTC, which formed over 43 percent of total volumes.

A total of 343 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 329 in the previous session, out of which shares of 96 closed up, shares of 225 companies closed down while shares of 22 companies remained unchanged. A total of 94 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 97 companies in the previous session, out of which share prices of 25 companies closed up, 64 companies closed down and five remained unchanged.

The number of total trades decreased to 163,080 from 187,097 recorded in the previous session, while the value traded decreased by Rs4.34 billion to Rs14.24 against Rs18.58 billion in the previous session.

In terms of rupee, RMPL remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs149 (+1.69 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,950. The runner-up remained PMPK, the share price of which climbed up by Rs55.09 (+7.5 percent) to Rs789.59. UPFL remained the top loser with a decrease of R397 (-1.78 percent) per share, closing at Rs21,900, followed by PAKT, the share price of which fell by Rs57.39 (-5.29 percent) to close at Rs1,027.61 per share.

The major sectors taking the index towards south were oil & gas exploration companies and power generation and distribution (51 points each), automobile assemblers (44 points), commercial banks (39 points), cement (35 points), tobacco (21 points), refinery (16 points), pharmaceutical and fertilizer (13 points each), engineering (12 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (11 points), cable and electrical goods (10 points), and technology & communication (9 points).

Ten major companies depriving the index of points remained MTL (25 points), OGDC (24 points), HUBC (21 points), LUCK (18 points), PSMC and PPL (17 points each), EFERT and PAKT (12 points each), BAHL (9 points), and SYS (8 points).

The major sectors taking the index towards north remained food and personal care products (6 points), paper and board (3 points), and real estate investment trust (one point).

Ten major companies adding points to the index remained POL (12 points), NATF (11 points), ENGRO, HASCOL and HMB (9 points each), EPCL, AKBL and PIAA (4 points each), and TBL and FML (3 points each).