Daily Times

PSX-continues-bullish-trend-gains-827-points-e1576187826235Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) lost its four session winning streak on Thursday , as benchmark KSE-100 lost 726.22 points by the closing bell to clock at 44,724.09 index level.

On Thursday, the market booked profit as investors speculated ahead of monetary policy announcement, as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will reveal its monetary policy for the next two months and will be announced on Friday. At its meeting on June 25, 2020 the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to reduce the policy rate by 100 basis points to 7 per cent and it is still unchanged.

The market also witnessed pressure as increase in leverage levels from Rs35 billion level (across MTS, MFS and Futures) on March 12 to Rs41 billion on March 17 reignited the issue of overleveraging at a time when key economic decisions are pending on account of monetary policy as well as withdrawal of tax exemptions. Selling was observed across the board, with cement, steel, refinery and tech stocks contributing to the onslaught.

The Index traded in a range of 974.06 points or 2.14 percent of the previous close, showing an intraday high of 45,615.35 and a low of 44,641.29.

The volume at KSE-100 surged from 263.12 million shares recorded in the previous session to nearly 300 million shares, while the all-share volume also jumped from 510.38 million shares recorded in the previous session to 554 million shares. Market Capital decreased by Rs.121.47 Billion, while total value traded decreased by 1.10 Billion to Rs.23.70 Billion

The volume chart was led by Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd followed by K-Electric Ltd and TRG Pakistan Ltd. The scrips exchanged 57.88 million, 49.49 million and 39.26 million shares, respectively.

According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) foreign investors were net buyers of $2.84 million worth of equities. Among local investors, Insurance Companies led the buying chart and mopped up $1.78 million worth of equities. However, the selling chart was led by Mutual Funds and Brokers, each offloaded $2.68 million worth of equities.

During the session, sectors which dented the index were Technology & Communication with 118 points, Commercial Banks with 112 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 87 points, Cement with 86 points and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 48 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by TRG Pakistan limited which stripped the index of 101 points followed by ENGRO with 47 points, Pakistan State Oil with 35 points, Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 34 points and Bank Al Habib Limited with 33 points.

However, scrips which continued to lift the index were Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited which contributed 16 points followed by Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited with 10 points, Indus Motor Company Limited with 6 points, AGP with 4 points and NESTLE with 3 points.