Stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday as investors remained concerned about the high inflation numbers and weak rupee, traders said.
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index closed lower by 53.11 points or 0.13 percent to stand at 40,619.95 points against 40,673.06 points recorded in the last session. Intraday high was 40,986.59 points, while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 40,611.60 points.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed lower amid pressure in selected scrips on weaker rupee, Fitch rating projections on rupee weakening and dismal data on CPI inflation that stood at 27.5 percent YoY in January 2023.”
He said IMF revised growth to 2 percent for FY23, concerns over resolution of circular debt crises and uncertainty over the outcome of Pak-IMF 9th review mission talks amid the Rs2 trillion fiscal gap played a catalytic role in the bearish close.
KSE-30 index also decreased by 20.02 points or 0.13 percent to 15,170.41 points compared with 15,190.43 points recorded in the last session.
Volumes dropped by 23 million shares to 130.973 million shares from 153.324 million shares, whereas value decreased to Rs5.877 billion from Rs7.441 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs6.390 trillion from Rs6.394 trillion. Out of 323 companies active in the session, 158 closed in green, 133 in red and 32 remained unchanged.
An analyst at Topline Securities said after a positive opening, profit-taking was witnessed at the bourse, as investors remained cautious over higher CPI inflation. Furthermore, the expectation of another hike in oil prices, as well as likely increase in electricity and gas tariffs also dented the investors’ sentiments.
Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), TRG, Lucky Cement, Systems Limited and Fauji Fertilizer Company dented the index by a cumulative 60 points.
The highest increase was recorded in the shares of Sanofi-Aventis, up Rs24.50 to close at Rs870/share, followed by Pak Engineering, up Rs21.11 to close at Rs302.70/share. A significant decline was noted in the shares of Rafhan Maize, down Rs325 to end at Rs8,000/share, followed by Pak Services, down Rs169.87 to end at Rs2,095.13/share.
Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said a range-bound session was recorded at the PSX on Wednesday.
“The market opened in the green and traded within the same range as investor participation remained sluggish due to the continuous depreciation of the PKR against the USD, causing the benchmark KSE-100 to close the trading day in the red zone,” it reported. Volumes remained reasonable across the board.
Sectors contributing to the performance included miscellaneous (-82.8 points), E&Ps (-35.4 points), technology and communication (-22.1 points), fertiliser (-11.2 points), and oil marketing companies (-6.1 points).
PPL remained the volume leader with 9.469 million shares, which declined by 90 paisas to stand at Rs76.63/share. It was followed by P.I.A.C.(A) with 8.353 million shares that closed higher by 29 paisas to Rs3.99/share.
Other stocks that recorded significant turnover included Gul Ahmed, Habib Bank Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, Maple Leaf Cement, K-Electric Ltd, Pak Refinery, WorldCall Telecom and Hub Power Company.
Shares’ turnover in the future contracts decreased to 34.750 million shares from 44 million shares in the last session.