KARACHI: Bears ran amok in the stock market on Tuesday as unending political chaos took a toll on sentiments.
Arif Habib Ltd said the benchmark index opened in the red zone as a sell-off plunged the benchmark by 1,437 points in intraday trading. Investors stayed on the sidelines while a majority of shares closed on the lower side.
A major cause of the downswing was that the ruling alliance at the federal level moved a no-trust resolution in a provincial assembly currently controlled by a coalition led by former premier Imran Khan’s party — a development that’ll further muddy the political waters. In addition, the news about the federal government increasing the electricity rates to placate the International Monetary Fund also dampened the sentiments, according to analyst Ahsan Mehanti.
As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 39,832.45 points, down 1,138.4 points or 2.8 per cent from the preceding session.
The overall trading volume increased 86.1pc to 265.3 million shares. The traded value went up 57.2pc to $29.1m on a day-on-day basis.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (33.6m shares), K-Electric Ltd (19.9m shares), Hascol Petroleum Ltd (12.5m shares), Cnergyico PK Ltd (10m shares) and Telecard Ltd (7.3m shares).
Sectors that contributed negatively to the index performance were technology and communication (191.1 points), commercial banking (104.8 points), exploration and production (100.3 points), cement (98.8 points) and fertiliser (94.1 points).
Companies registering the biggest increase in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs190), Bata Pakistan Ltd (Rs49.33), Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (Rs16.66), Al-Ghazi Tractors Ltd (Rs16.57) and Gatron Industries Ltd (Rs10.10).
Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Pakistan Services Ltd (Rs116), Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs90.28), Sanofi-Aventis Pakistan Ltd (Rs61), Reliance Cotton Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs30) and ICI Pakistan Ltd (Rs27.46).
Foreign investors were net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $0.61m.
Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2022
