KARACHI: Karachi stocks shed 2.35 percent on Friday as a slump in most blue chips sent the index, which fell through key support levels, to its biggest decline this year, dealers said. The index extended losses for the fourth consecutive day as the caution also prevailed ahead of the expiry of futures rollover week, which also intensified the selling pressure, they added. “There were talks of selling by leveraged investors to meet their margin calls. Friday was the last day of futures rollover, adding pressure to the steep market fall,” said Samar Iqbal at Topline Securities. “End of rollover week and start of result season may provide some stability to the market in the coming weeks.” The benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100-share Index shed 721.14 points, or 2.35 percent, to finish at 29,957.83 points. KSE-30 shares index lost 532.13 points, or 2.71 percent, to end at 19,069.19 points. During the last week, the market tumbled 3.4 percent. This was the fifth consecutive week of negative closing; all in all, the index plunged 12 percent in the five sessions. A total of $11.6 billion worth of market capitalisation has been eroded. From its peak, the Index is now down 14 percent, loosing $11.6 billion in market capitalization. Arham Ghous at JS Global Capital said the market opened on a positive note, but the positivity was short-lived. “Persistent foreign selling followed by panic sale by locals was the major reason behind the index decline. All the sectors took a hit, primarily led by cements and banks,” Ghous added. Dealers said an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan into allegations of insider trading by the leading brokerage houses is frightening investors. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said the index closed to a six month low on foreign selling in emerging markets and provincial political uncertainty ahead of quarter-end close at KSE. “Stocks fell across the board on minor correction in crude prices ignoring record foreign exchange reserve data, Moody’s upgrade on bond ratings to positive and SBP (State bank of Pakistan) rate cut last week to 13 year lows,” Mehanti said. As many as 361 scrips were active; of which 69 increased, 276 decreased and 16 remained unchanged. The ready market turnover dropped to 213.027 million shares as compared to 258.324 million shares a day earlier. A number leading cement securities, including DG Khan Cement, Maple Leaf Cement, National Bank of Pakistan and Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim were down 2.0 to 5.0 percent. A dealer said the government’s plan to use computerised national identity card as national tax number from July 1, 2015 triggered panic among investors. Moreover, the local investors were reluctant to take positions given the regional political environment and the regulatory issues, leaving the market depthless. Foreign investors are squaring positions, while buyers are absent from the market in absence of any deterrence to the freefall. Highest volumes were witnessed in Bank of Punjab with a turnover of 30.917 million shares. The scrip shed Rs1.0 to close at Rs7.81/share. It was followed by Pak Elektron with a turnover of 25.334 million shares. It decreased Rs1.49 to end at Rs44.55/share. TRG Pakistan was the third with a turnover of 10.77 million shares. It inched up 17 paisas to finish at Rs14.87/share.
