PSX ends flat amid thin trading

Author: Staff Report

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed Monday little changed after a lackluster and volatile trading session on declining activity.

KSE-100 index observed a volatile session throughout the day, making an intraday high of +138 and intraday low of -297 points, where it closed at 42,841 points level, 54 points positive.

Market after a sideways opened traded in a narrow range before succumbing to profit-taking mid day and later witnessed recovery on selective buying reportedly by foreign institutional investors. More specifically, fertilisers came under investors radar likely on expectations of an earlier clearance of subsidy claims by government of Pakistan, while reports of aggressive FI buying in the sector also did rounds; Fauji Fertilizers (FFC) gaining 5 percent, Fauji Fertilisers Bin Qasim (FFBL) gaining 4.9 percent, Engro Fertlilisers (EFERT) gaining 4.7 percent all closed higher.

However, other major sectors, including Financials witnessed limited interest and closed lower barring MCB Bank (MCB) with 4.2 percent gains, stood strong and weathered the general trend on reported foreign interest following FTSE rebalancing last Friday. On earnings front, Kohat Cement (KOHC) losing 5 percent failed to impress after a poor final quarter result and finished at its respective lower price limit. Whereas on the flipside Habib Bank Limited (HBL) losing 1.40 percent, Lucky Cement losing 2.25 percent, Hubco losing 1.64 percent and DG Khan Cement losing 1.88 percent were the major negative contributors to the index. An Elixir Securities’ analyst said that the KSE-100 Index is expected to find resistance at 43,000 level and flows primarily from institutional investors are expected to guide market direction in days ahead.

Market volumes remained low as total volume for the All-Share index touched 114 million shares, 43 percent down from the last trading day. Dost Steel Mills Limited (DSL) gaining 3.96 percent from the steel sector remained volume leader with 11 million shares traded in the overall market.

Fertiliser stocks witnessed a rally as inventory stockpiles showed improvement. Current inventory stands at 0.695 million as compared to 1mn tones at the beginning of the year, while increasing international urea prices was another catalyst for Monday’s performance.

“We do not expect recovery in the market to continue for long. We recommend investors to stay cautious in the market and utilise every possible opportunity to sell”, said JS Research’s analyst Maaz Mulla.

Published in Daily Times, September 19^th 2017.