Stocks closed lower following the finance minister’s statement on cancelling his visit to the US, where he was meant to remove bottlenecks in the staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund.
The decision created negativity in the market, traders said.
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index closed lower by 301.24 points or 0.75 percent to stand at 40,049.65 points against 40,350.89 points recorded in the last session. Intraday high was 40,556.41 points while intraday low was 40,004.35 points.
Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said the weekend closed in the red. The index opened positive but could not sustain after the news regarding the finance minister postponing his visit to the USA for negotiations with IMF.
Mainboard volumes continued to remain sluggish whereas 3rd tier stocks led the board, it noted.
KSE-30 index also decreased by 131.09 points or 0.87 percent to 14,915 points compared with 15,046.09 points recorded in the last session.
Volumes dropped by 36 million shares to 135.135 million shares from 171.360 million shares, whereas value decreased to Rs3.201 billion from Rs5.130 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs6.093 trillion from Rs6.144 trillion. Out of 301 companies active in the session, 90 closed in green, 188 in red and 23 remained unchanged.
Analyst Nabeel Haroon of Topline Securities said a dull session was observed at the exchange as the index largely traded in a negative zone with low volume. Negativity in the market can be attributed to news that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has cancelled his visit to the United States where he was scheduled to meet the International Monetary Fund management for the removal of bottlenecks in the way of the staff-level agreement regarding the revival of the stalled bailout package.
A major contribution to the index came from OGDC, Engro, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Hubco and Systems Limited, as they cumulatively lost value to weigh down on the index by -171 points.
The highest increase was recorded in the shares of Sapphire Fiber, up Rs27.88 to close at Rs1,017.88/share, followed by Pak Services, up Rs10.47 to close at Rs891.61/share. A significant decline was noted in the shares of Nestle Pakistan, down Rs126.87 to close at Rs5,071.33/share, followed by Siemens Pak, down Rs40 to stand at Rs560/share.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed lower on speculations after FM cancelled a visit to the US and spring meetings with WB and IMF meant for removal of bottlenecks in SLA.”
Rising political noise amid the NA standoff with the judiciary, a slump in rupee, dismal data on exports, petroleum, oil, lubricant and cement sales in March 2023 and concerns for surging inflation played a catalytic role in the bearish close, Mehanti added.
JS Bank Ltd remained the volume leader with 26.211 million shares which closed lower by 2 paisas to end at Rs4.09/share. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 13.117 million shares, which closed lower by 4 paisas to end at Rs1.18/share.
Other significant turnover stocks included Silk Bank, The Organic Meat, Telecard Limited, Pakistan Petroleum, OGDC, DGK Cement, Maple Leaf, and Pakistan International Bulk.
Turnover in the future contracts decreased to 32.524 million shares from 50.688 million shares previously.