Daily Times

Bearish trend continue to dominat Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the indices remained in the negative territory for most part of the day amid lack of triggers. The continuous heavy selling by the foreigners was the major reason that pulled down the index.

The foreigners were net sellers of about $3.8 million as corona virus continues to haunt investor that has triggered global sell-off. Meanwhile, the domestic market remains positive, as banks, institutions and companies remain net buyers. Domestic companies led the chart by being the net buyers of equities at worth $2.7 million, while the Banks trail behind at being the net buyers of worth $1.6 million, followed by institutions with $0.8 million.

Losing 437.24 points, KSE-100 Index touched its intraday low at 38,762.44. It settled lower by 293.28 points at 38,906.40. Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index lost 1,001.36 points to end at 60,923.33, while the KSE All Share Index depleted 135.10 points, closing at 26,919.79. Out of the total traded shares, 112 advanced and 187 declined.

The overall market volumes declined from 225.28 million in the previous session to 186.99 million. The volume chart was led by Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited, followed by Hascol Petroleum Limited and The Bank of Punjab, exchanging 23.36 million, 19.24 million and 15.94 million shares, respectively.

Sectors that drove the KSE-100 Index south included oil & gas exploration by 107.42 points, power generation & distribution by 53.18 points and fertilizer by 44.72 points. Among the companies, Engro Corporation Limited, Hub Power Company Limited and Oil & Gas Development Company Limited dented the index the most.

Meanwhile, The State Bank of Pakistan conducted an auction on in which it sold PIB’s worth Rs.164.60 Billion for 3, 5, 10 and 20 years in fixed and floating rate bonds. Cut off Yields for 3, 5 and 10 years decreased by 46, 41 and 15 basis points over the previous auction to 11.5888, 10.99 and 10.85 percent.

In a rare occurrence, the bid for the 20 year PIB was also accepted at 11.7999, the first time since January 2015 that this tenor has seen a successful auction. The combined auction target was Rs.150 billion against a maturing amount of Rs.389.30 billion. The SBP received bids worth Rs.676.75 billion, out of which it accepted Rs.109.60 Billion in fixed Rate PIBs and Rs.55 Billion for the 10 year floating rate PIB.

In the fixed rate auction, the SBP received bids worth Rs. 243.735 billion for 3 years, Rs.105.675 billion for 5 year, Rs.74.491 billion for 10 year and Rs. 1 billion for 20 year, out of which the central bank accepted Rs.38.35 billion for 3 years, Rs.32.15 billion for 5 years, Rs.38.10 billion for 10 years and Rs.1 billion for 20 years.

In the floating rate bond auction, the SBP received bids worth Rs.251.852 billion out of which the SBP accepted Rs.55 billion at a cut off price of 102.5295.The SBP announced that it will release the results of the Non-Competitive auction and amount raised through short selling later.

In Asia: Stock markets in the region in were mostly higher on Wednesday after the US. Federal Reserve announced an emergency rate cut. South Korea’s Kospi led gains among major Asian markets as it jumped 2.24% to close at 2,059.33. The moves came as the country proposed an extra budget of 11.7 trillion Korean won ($9.86 billion) to combat the coronavirus outbreak and its economic impact. South Korea has more than 5,300 total confirmed cases so far, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making it the country with the highest number of infected outside of China.

In China, Shanghai composite added 0.63% to about 3,011.67 despiteCaixin/Markit services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for February in china,plunged to 26.5 from 51.8 in January. The 50-point level in PMI readings separates growth from contraction.Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index edged 0.24% lower, as of its final hour of trading. That came after the latest release of IHS Markit’s Hong Kong Purchasing Manager’s Index, which hit a record low of 33.1 in February. In Japan, Nikkei 225 closed fractionally higher at 21,100.06 the Japanese yen, often seen as a save-haven in times of economic uncertainty, traded at 107.55 per dollar after touching an earlier high of 106.84. While the global economies struggle to fight coronavirus epidemic, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said new coronavirus epidemic poses a “serious threat” to people and the world economy, and will slow growth below the 2.9 percent posted last year. She said The COVID-19 outbreak “is no longer regional issue, it is a global problem (that) calls for global response.IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also announced a $50 billion aid package Wednesday to help fight the coronavirus.