Daily Times

Kse-100 began the trading week on a negative note as index shed 114.93 points to breach 40,000 level and clocked at 39, 914.76 points. The index oscillated between negative and positive territory throughout the session as investors continue to book profit amid lack of triggers.

Kse-100 has entered a correction mode and has posted losses in back to back two trading sessions as it entered an overbought territory following one of the longest bull run- which also posted recorded volumes, and posted nearly 15% returns since the beginning of the fiscal year 2021.

The KSE-100 Index witnessed volatile activity throughout the day, registering its intraday high at 40,195.22 after gaining 165.53 points. However, failing to sustain the momentum, the index slipped to intraday low at 39,828.91 after it lost 200.78 points. The index volume declined from 368.85 million shares in the previous session to 289.98 million shares, while the overall market volumes contracted from 727.90 million shares in the previous session to 576.55 million shares. During the session, individuals led the investment chart, and remained net buyers of worth $5.1 million of shares, while institutions were the highest sellers of the equities, which sold $3.4 million worth of equities. Meanwhile, foreign investors showed fresh interest in the market, and were net buyers of $1.5 million worth of equities.

The volume chart was led by Unity Foods Limited Right Shares followed by Hascol Petroleum Limited and Worldcall Telecom. The scrips exchanged 81.62 million, 65.30 million and 35.84 million shares, respectively.

Sectors which continue to add pressure and dented the index included Technology & Communication with 48 points, Cement with 45 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 40 points, Commercial Banks with 24 points and Insurance with 24 points. Among the scrips, most points taken off the index was by TRG Pakistan Ltd which stripped the index of 41 points followed by Muslim Commercial Bank with 19 points, Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Ltd with 18 points, Pakistan Oilfields Ltd with 16 points and Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited  with 16 points.

While, the sectors which continues to resist the selling pressure and lifted the index included Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 31 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 28 points, Textile Composite with 25 points, Refinery with 13 points and Tobacco with 8 points. Among the scrips most points added to the index was by Millat Tractor Ltd contributed 23 points followed by Hub Power Company Ltd with 20 points, Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited  with 16 points, Kot Addu Power Company Limited with 14 points and Pakistan State Oil with 13 points.

Global markets

Global stocks were mixed over rising concerns over escalating Sino-U.S tensions following U.S President Donald Trump’s executive orders to ban Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat. As part of the order, any transaction with ByteDance and Tencent, the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat, respectively, will be barred in 45 days. Investors sentiments were also dented following fresh round of sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other senior officials of the city state over undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy. This comes weeks after China imposed a controversial national security law on Hong Kong, which critics say threatened its freedoms.

In Asia, investors treaded cautiously over rising Sino-U.S tensions, as stocks traded mixed. South Korea’s Kospi index bucked up the trend and gained 1.48% to 2,386.38 as shares of automakers surged. Hyundai Motor added 15.65% while Kia Motors gained 9.7%. While, Chinese mainland markets reversed earlier losses to advance, with Shanghai composite index closing 0.75% higher to 3,379.25. However, In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index retraced earlier losses of more than 1% to trade down 0.6%.

In Europe, stocks posted gains across the board as investors brushing off tensions between the U.S. and China that dampened investor sentiment in Asia. The pan-European Stoxx 600 pared some of its earlier gains and was up 0.27% by mid-afternoon. Among the stocks, Banks added 2% to lead gains, while tech stocks dropped 1.8%. Among the major bourses, UK’s FTSE-100 has gained 0.44%, while CAC-40 in France jumped 0.35%. Germany’s DAX index fell flat and closed 0.02% higher.

In the U.S, Wall Street followed picked up the pace over Covid-19 stimulus hopes. Stocks traded higher on Monday after President Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at extending coronavirus relief. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 250 points, or 0.9%, while The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.3%. Trump’s moves come after congressional leaders failed to make progress on a new stimulus package last week. Several benefits from a package signed earlier in the year lapsed at the end of July, raising uncertainty over recovery of U.S. economy.