KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) failed to sustain profit-taking due to bullish rally extended from the last week. Oil and energy shares came under profit taking as oil prices in the international market touched retreated below 11 month high. The KSE-100 index closed below 46,000 mark on Thursday.
The Karachi Share Index (KSE-100) lost 102.61 points (0.22 per cent) after closing at 45,989.35 points against the previous closing of 46,091.96 points. The market went as high as 46,2271.046 points during intra-day trading, while recorded as low as 45,852.83 points.
Trading volume declined to 620.74 million shares today as compared to 845.28 million traded in the previous session, according to PSX website data. The daily traded value declined to Rs 19.8 billion from Rs 26.86 billion in the previous session, the data said.
The main reason behind this was the inflated prices of energy and oil stocks due to rally in the last few days. The decline in international oil prices. In addition to this, bullish sentiments in the regional and international markets were outweighed by the news of surging coronavirus cases in Europe and new lockdowns in China.
China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, reported its biggest daily jump in new COVID-19 cases in more than 10 months as infections in a northeastern province nearly tripled.
The market opened on a bullish note on the back of oil & gas sector tracking the sustained strength in the due current rise in international oil prices. However, it was unable to sustain momentum at higher levels as broad profit taking by local institutions pared intraday gains leading to profit taking under fresh uncertainty rising on pandemic front.
Brent crude oil futures fell 36 cents to $55.70 a barrel by 0917 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) dropped 26 cents to $52.65.
Brent’s six-month backwardation, whereby contracts for later delivery are cheaper, fell to its lowest since Jan. 5, indicating bullish sentiment easing.
The share price of Colgate Palmolive increased by Rs 98.98 to Rs 3,198.98 while Pakistan Tobacco gained Rs 42.98 to Rs 1,650. On the other hand, Nestle Pakistan lost Rs 104.37 today to close at Rs 6,630.63 while Rafan Maize lost Rs 68 to close at Rs 9,782.
