Daily Times

Stocks continued their descent and extended losses for the third consecutive day at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as rising fears over stricter lockdown measures restrained the index.

On Friday, the benchmark kse-100 dipped to intra-day low of 566 points to touch 44,363.40 level, however, mid-session the index pared some of the losses.

During the session the market was gripped with fears of rising Covid cases and expected stricter lockdown measures in the NCOC meeting, after the Federal Minister for Planning and Development and the Chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar earlier this week issued a warning and said that if that if coronavirus situation worsens in the country, the government will be compelled to impose more restrictions.

Moreover, the market also witnessed selling pressure during the trading session owing to upcoming rollover week.

On the result front, host of unexpected financial results by Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited, Fauji Cement Company Limited, and Kot Addu Power Company took a toll on some of the sectors and forced investors to trade cautiously.

During the session Market Capital decreased by Rs.44.93 Billion, while total value traded also decreased by 4.10 Billion to Rs.11.78 Billion.

The volume at kse-100 was shrinked from 139 million shares recorded in the previous session to 96.99 million shares whereas the all-share volume diminished from 328 million shares recorded in the previous session to 240 million shares.

The volume chart was led by Ghani Global Limited followed by World Call telecom Limited TRG Pakistan. The scrips exchanged 38.78 million, 24.11 million and 23.64 million shares, respectively.

According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) foreign investors were net buyers of $2.56 million worth of equities.

Among local investors, Mutual Funds and Individuals led the selling chart, which offloaded $4.26 million, $0.87 million worth of equities.

During the session, sectors which dented the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 54 points, Chemical with 40 points, Fertilizer with 38 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 32 points and Textile Composite with 28 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by Oil & Gas Development Company Limited which stripped the index of 31 points followed by Colgate Pakistan with 31 points, Hub Power Company with 27 points, ENGRO with 16 points and Habib Bank Limited with 12 points.

However, the sectors which lifted the index were Technology & Communication with 37 points, Insurance with 14 points, Engineering with 7 points, Refinery with 4 points and Miscellaneous with 2 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by TRG Pakistan which contributed 49 points followed by Habib Metropolitan Bank Limited with 30 points, Adamjee Insurance Company Limited with 15 points, National Bank of Pakistan with 12 points and Pakistan Stock Exchange with 5 points.

Weekly Review: TLP protests, Covid fears kept investors sentiments in check

Stocks witnessed rather range bound activity over the last two months, with the KSE-100 averaging at the 45,000 level. During the week the index settled at 44,707 points after posting a decline of 1.3%. The index witnessed a high of 45,627 points and low of 44,363 points respectively, despite strong corporate earnings announcements.

During the week bearish sentiments prevailed due to concerns over NCOC meeting for stricter lockdown enforcement on account of increasing Covid cases. Furthermore, average trading volumes declined by 10 per cent to settle at 333 million shares and the trading value also declined by 3 percent to average at $167 million.

However, during the week some positive news flow kept the momentum going which was rollover of a $2 billion repayment of loan by Abu Dhabi following a three-day official visit by UAE diplomats.

Moreover, although Tehreek e Labaik Pakistan led protests did make some dent during the first day of the week, however following its announcement to call off its nationwide protest on Tuesday after the government accepted its demand to table a resolution in the National Assembly, the Market did feel some relief.