Stocks down on delays in IMF loan

Stocks started the week with a negative note on Monday, as investors remained on sidelines amid consistent delays in the IMF programme, traders said.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index closed lower by 411.50 points or 1.00 percent to 40,918.45 points, against 41,329.95 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 41,390.51 points while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 40,911.89 points.

“Stocks closed under pressure on a slump in global equities and delays over IMF staff level agreement,” Ahsan Mehanti, analyst at Arif Habib Corp said. Economic turmoil and an uncertainty over the outcome of the International Monetary Fund conditions to revive the bailout programme had played a catalyst role in the bearish close.

KSE-30 index also decreased by 308.84 points or 2.01 percent to 15,043.17 points, compared with 15,352.01 points recorded in the last session. Traded shares increased by 23 million shares to 195.477 million shares from 172.605 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs5.007 billion from Rs8.019 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs6.246 trillion from Rs6.319 trillion. Out of 310 companies active in the session, 124 closed in green, 169 in red and 17 remained unchanged.

According to Muhammad Arbash, analyst at Topline Securities, equities closed negative where the benchmark KSE100 Index settled at a 40,918 level (down 1.0 percent). The delay in IMF 9th review had led the investors to remain on the sidelines resultantly the market made an intraday low of 411 points, he added.

OGDC, PPL, ENGRO, POL and EFERT were the major decliners in the trading session, which cumulatively dented the Index by 193 points. The highest increase was recorded in shares of Unilever Foods, which rose by Rs56 to Rs18,256 per share, followed by Premium Tex., which increased by Rs31.28 to Rs448.35 per share.

A significant decline was noted in shares of Rafhan Maize, which fell by Rs112 to Rs1,388 per share, followed by Sapphire Tex., which decreased by Rs85.47 to Rs1,054.26 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said a negative session was witnessed at PSX. “The KSE-100 began on a positive note, but bears quickly took over as the index lost steam and ended the session in the red, owing to the state's economic and political uncertainties, plunging the index to an intraday low of 420.71 points,” it reported. “Considering that investors chose to be cautious while trading, mainboard volumes dried up, while side board scrips dominated the volume board.”

Sectors contributing to the performance included E&P’s (-127.7 points), fertilizer (-75.4 points), cement (-59.8 points), miscellaneous (-59.0 points), and commercial banks (-44.5 points).

Unity Foods Ltd remained the volume leader with 25.054 million shares which increased by 58 paisas to Rs14.16 per share. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 16.643 million shares, which decreased by four paisas to Rs1.21 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Fauji Foods Ltd, Maple Leaf, Pak Int. Bulk, Dewan Motors, Bankislami Pak., Telecard Limited, Hum Network and Silk Bank Ltd. Shares’ turnover in the future contracts increased to 41.827 million shares from 39.743 million shares.