Daily Times

Bears returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on wednesday ending two days winning streak as rising political din weighed heavy on investors’ sentiments.

On wednesday, the benchmark KSE-100 index clocked at 45,682.11 index level, after losing about 300 points by the closing bell. The index remained negative throughout the session, and also touched intra day low of 45,612.

Market participants closely followed the political developments, after estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Jahangir Tareen launched a group of like-minded lawmakers in the National Assembly as well as the Punjab Assembly at a dinner he hosted for his supporters. The political move by a former PTI stalwart indicated rising instability among the government cadres, which left investors panicking.

Moreover the selling pressure was led by foreign investors, after they offloaded their strategic positions in oil scrips, following a recent Morgan Stanley Capital Index (MSCI) review which deleted Oil & Gas Development Company Limited from its emerging market index.

However, the power and oil sector remained bullish throughout the session, over the expectations that the cabinet is set to approve IPPs payment and rising global crude oil prices.

During the session Market Capital decreased by Rs.20.69 billion, while total value traded decreased by 2.31 billion to Rs.20.80 billion.

The volume at KSE-100 surged from 216.3 million shares recorded in the previous session to 297.55 million shares, whereas the all-share volume also jumped from 536.79 million shares from the previous session to 578.3 million shares.

The volume chart was led by K-electric Limited, followed by Unity foods and Hascol petroleum limited. The scrips exchanged 65.4 million, 56.9 million and 44.15 million shares respectively.

According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) foreign investors were net sellers of about $41.9 million worth of equities.

However, local investors led the buying chart, with Companies and Individuals mopping up $21.9 million and $15.25 million worth of equities.

During the session, sectors which dented the index were Technology & Communication with 83 points, Cement with 72 points, Commercial Banks with 53 points, Textile Composite with 29 points and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 24 points. Among the scrips, TRG Pakistan took the most points off the index, which stripped the index of 70 points, followed by Lucky Cement with 24 points, Habib Bank Limited with 23 points, Pakistan State Oil with 22 points and Hub Power Company with 22 points.

However, sectors which lifted the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 18 points, Paper & Board with 8 points, Glass & Ceramics with 5 points, Chemical with 3 points and Synthetic & Rayon with 2 points. Among the scrips,Mari Petroleum added the most points to the index which contributed 16 points, followed by Hascol petroleum with 14 points, K-Electric Limited with 14 points, Oil & Gas Development Company KLimited with 13 points and Engro Corporation Limited with 10 points.