KARACHI: Pakistan equities closed marginally down Wednesday at 42,731 points level after a volatile trading session. Market started on a positive note in the initial hours of the session but later traded sideways, eventually closing in the red zone, down 28 points. The benchmark Index remained positive in the initial hour of trading setting an intra-day high of 42,857 however failed to make a follow-through and traded sideways in a relatively thin range for rest of the day. Healthy participation was witnessed in Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) that gained 0.35 percent with 10.6 million shares changing hands after locals turn aggressive buyers. The benchmark KSE 100 Index has shown signs of dwindling ahead of key resistance area of 42,800-43,000 which warns of an interim correction. At this point the key supports are placed around 42,600/500 levels however a break below this area would be sign of further bearish correction to the levels of 42,100 and 41,750 next, said Elixir Securities’ analyst Murtaza Jafar. Market will continue to trade sideways until any further substantial developments in local politics, said an equity analyst, Danish Ladhani. On the economic front, Pakistan’s Circular Debt crossed Rs1 trillion Mark. Moreover, the expected Finance Minister Asad Umar is yet to decide by end of September whether to access IMF for the bailout, pegging more pressure to market sentiment. Mixed reactions were seen in Financials where Allied Bank Limited (ABL), United Bank Limited (UBL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) closed in the red whereas MCB, Bank Alflah and Faysal Bank closed positive. In cements, Lucky Cement, DG Khan Cement, Fauji Cement and Maple Leaf Cement ended negative as investors booked profits after value hunting was seen in major Cements in previous day’s rally. Major heavyweights namely, UBL, Lucky, Hubco and PSO cumulatively contributed -94 points to the index. Traded volumes plummeted by 20 percent day-on-day (DoD) to 191 million shares while value traded decreased to $73 million. Top volume stocks were PIBTL, OGDC and Lotte Chemical. Ladhani expects market to remain range bound with flows from local and foreign institutions directing the market and recommend investors to accumulate valued stocks on dips. Published in Daily Times, August 9th 2018.