Stocks flatlined on Tuesday as media reported the premier, in a televised address to the nation, might announce some un-populist decisions his government has been forced to take to avert a looming balance of crisis, traders said.
Benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index gained a paltry 58.74 points or 0.14 percent to close at 42,726.06 points after testing a high and a low of 42,887.61 and 42,605.11 points, respectively, at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said stocks were buoyed led by selected scripts across the board on a bull-run in Asian stocks and a surge in global crude oil prices.”
Reports of review talks for the resumption of the IMF programme and ADB’s likely approval of up to $2 billion additional support loan till December 2022 saved the stocks from landing in the red zone, he said.
KSE-30 Shares Index also closed up 33.46 points or 0.21 percent to 16,246.38 points compared with 16,212.92 points recorded in the last session.
Traded shares decreased by 53 million to 197.91 million from 250.44 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs6.177 billion from Rs8.908 billion. Shares’ turnover in the future contracts decreased to 60.434 million shares from 88.671 million shares.
Market capital expanded to Rs7.085 trillion from Rs7.076 trillion. Out of 326 companies active in the session, 171 closed in green, 127 in red, while 28 remained unchanged.
Ali Najib at Topline Securities said equities spent the whole day treading water after reports the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was to address the nation.
“Investors remained sidelined ahead of the aforesaid address where the PM is expected to take some tough decisions to save the macro front from falling ,” he said. Initially, the market carried forward Monday’s bearish sentiment and opened on a negative note.
Tech, banks, and fertilisers contributed positively to the benchmark index where TRG, UBL, HBL, FFC, and DAWH added 75 points, cumulatively. On the flip side, LUCK, HUBC and MLCF saw some profit-taking as they lost 44 points collectively.
The highest increase was recorded in the value of Sapphire Fiber, which surged Rs64.11 to Rs1,029 per share, followed by Mehmood Textile, which jumped by Rs51.80 to Rs880 per share. Sapphire Textile was the worst loser as it fell Rs81.80 to Rs1,010.20 per share, followed by Shield Corp, which took a hit of Rs20.99 to settle down at Rs267.01 per share.
An analyst report of Arif Habib Ltd said the market witnessed a lacklustre session due to continued economic concerns and political uncertainty. “The participation remained dull after dollar flight shoved rupee down to a historic low,” the analyst added.
Mubashi Anis Naviwala at JS Research said the bourse witnessed muted activity due to noise in domestic politics and concerns over the economic outlook, which kept investors from healthy participation.
“We expect limited activity to continue in the coming sessions, where we recommend investors to avail any downside as an opportunity to buy in cement and textile sectors,” he advised.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 21.946 million shares that closed higher by 3 paisas to Rs1.48 per share. It was followed by Cnergyico PK with 15.472 million shares that rose by 10 paisas to Rs5.28 per share.
Other stocks that recorded significant turnover included Lotte Chemical, Pak Refinery, Treet Corp, Telecard Limited, Engro Polymer, Ghani Global Holdings, Hum Network and Pakistan International Bulk.