KARACHI: Stocks closed sharply lower by 1,320 points on Thursday amid institutional profit-taking on the back of a decline in T Bill auction.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index decreased by 1,319.8 points or 1.46 per cent to 88,966.77 points against 90,286.57 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 90,700.23 points while the lowest level was recorded at 89,063.34 points.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed sharply lower near earning season close on institutional profit taking.”
He said that rupee instability and uncertainty over the SBP decision on key policy rates ahead of the IMF’s first review on the EFF played a catalyst role in the bearish close.
The KSE-30 index decreased by 515.86 points or 1.82 per cent to 27,827.24 points against 28,343.10 points.
Traded shares decreased by 68 million shares to 546.274 million shares from 614.564 million shares. Trading value dropped to Rs24.117 billion from Rs27.341 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs11.536 trillion against Rs11.695 trillion. Of the 437 companies active in the session, 137 closed in green, 240 in red and 60 remained unchanged.
Nabeel Haroon, analyst at Topline Securities said the KSE-100’s recent rally was on account of expectations of a decline in the policy rate; profit taking was observed on Thursday on the back of a decline in T Bill auction, which can be attributed to buy on rumour and sell on news phenomena.
In session, top traded value-wise companies were SAZEW (Rs2.15 billion), PSO (Rs1.83 billion), ATRL (Rs1.57 billion), PPL (Rs1.22 billion) and TRG (Rs995 million).
Point-wise major contributions came from bank and fertiliser companies, as MCB, HBL, MEBL, Engro and EFERT lost value to weigh down on the index by 551 points.
The highest increase was recorded in Hoechst Pakistan Limited shares, which rose by Rs140.46 to Rs2,257.58 per share, followed by Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which increased by Rs112.49 to Rs19,100 per share. A significant decline was noted in PIA Holding Company Limited B, which fell by Rs91.28 to Rs831.24 per share; Nestle Pakistan Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs75.73 to Rs6,552.02 per share.
Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a pullback as the KSE-100 index dropped 1.23 per cent on the day, closing the month below the 90,000 level. Despite this end-of-month decline, the KSE-100 recorded an impressive monthly gain of 9.93 per cent in October, positioning Pakistan as the second-best performing market globally, just behind Kenya.
In fiscal news, Pakistan recorded a budget surplus for the first time since the second quarter of FY04. This surplus was largely driven by an unprecedented Rs2.5 trillion profit from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The primary surplus also hit a record high, reaching Rs3 trillion -- the largest ever recorded in Pakistan’s history.
While market corrections can trigger caution, Pakistan remains in a bull market, entering the strongest seasonal period of the year. Analysts note that these pullbacks present buying opportunities as the KSE-100 approaches the 88,000 support level, keeping investor sentiment positive.
K-Electric Ltd remained the volume leader with 73.617 million shares, which closed higher by 18 paisas to Rs4.44 per share. BO Punjab followed it with 42.667 million shares, which closed higher by 29 paisas to Rs5.82 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included WorldCall Telecom, Silk Bank Ltd, Bank Makramah, PIA Holding Company, Fauji Foods Ltd, Power Cement and Maple Leaf.
In the futures market, 314 companies recorded trading, of which 70 increased, 242 decreased and 2 remained unchanged.