The benchmark index KSE-100 at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) stayed under pressure on Monday and closed at 44,629 points, down 192 points or 0.43%.
The pressure is mounting on the PSX owing to the delay in reaching a conclusive decision via negotiations between Pakistan’s economic manager and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
As per Arif Habib Ltd, the uncertainty revolving around the resumption of the loan program under IMF is dampening investor sentiment despite assurances from the Ministry of Finance that the negotiations were still ongoing and that the terms will be negotiated soon.
Banking stocks and oil chain contributed positively earlier in the trading session adding a total of 169 points to the index. However, these gains were eroded under selling pressure later in the day.
Among scrips, Hum Network Ltd led the volume with 25.1 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom Ltd and Hascol Petroleum Ltd with 20.8m and 13.8m respectively.
In terms of sectors, the ones which contributed to the index’s performance comprise technology (-146 points), cement (-47 points), engineering (-27 points), textile (-24 points), and refinery (-18 points).
The traded volume dropped from 334.3m shares to 248.3m shares, down by 26% on a day-on-day basis. The average traded value also dropped by 25% day-on-day and reached $51m against $68.2m.
Stocks that made significant contributions to the volume are those of Hum Network Ltd, WorldCall Telecom Ltd, Hascol Petroleum Ltd, Unity Foods Ltd, and Dost Steels Ltd. Together they formed 34% of the total traded volume.
Stocks with positive contributions to the index are those of Habib Bank Ltd (48 points), MCB Bank Ltd (31 points), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (30 points), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (29 points) and Engro Corporation Ltd (27 points).
Stocks responsible for impactive the index negatively includ TRG Pakistan Ltd (-88 points), Systems Ltd (-47 points), Bank Al Habib Ltd (-42 points), Fauji Fertilisers Company Ltd FFC (-22 points) and Unity Foods Ltd (-17 points).
As per JS Global, investors are advised to wait for the market to settle down in the midst of changing economic indicators. The brokerage house added that investors should take advantage of the major drops and accumulate stocks from the banking and oil and gas exploration sectors.
