Stocks edge lower on political noise, pre-budget jitters

Stocks closed slightly lower on Wednesday, weighed down by political uncertainty and pre-budget jitters, traders said.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index fell by 159.38 points or 0.22 percent to close at 72,601.82 points. The KSE-30 index decreased by 86.61 points or 0.37 percent to 23,538.53 points.

“Stocks closed lower amid political noise and pre-budget uncertainty,” said analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp.He said the government deliberations over structural reforms ahead of Pakistan-IMF negotiations for a new bailout package, and reports of falling fertiliser, and cement sales played a catalytic role in the bearish close.

Traded shares increased by 349 million shares to 970.325 million shares from 621.826 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs23.514 billion from Rs24.970 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs9.804 trillion against Rs9.850 trillion. Of 388 companies active in the session, 149 closed in green, 208 in red and 31 remained unchanged.

Naveed Nadeem, an analyst at Topline Securities, said throughout the session, the index displayed a mixed trend, hitting highs of 73,079 points and lows of 72,358 points.The decline in the index was mainly propelled by DAWH, EFERT, MCB, LUCK, and UBL, collectively causing a drop of 210 points. Conversely, SRVI, FFC, and KEL balanced this out by adding 97 points to the index.

The highest increase was recorded in Service Industries Limited shares, which rose by Rs49.60 to Rs710.91 per share, followed by Highnoon Laboratories Limited, which increased by Rs26.83 to Rs649.82 per share.

A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs552.77 to Rs18,995.18 per share, followed by Hallmark Company Limited, which closed lower by Rs68 to Rs838.62 per share.

Analyst Muhammad Rizwan at Chase Securities said the market experienced selling pressure, resulting in the index closing 159 points lower. "This downward trend was particularly noticeable in cement stocks, driven by weak April sales figures."

Despite two consecutive upper caps, profit-taking occurred in DAWH, contributing to a 67 point decline in the sector and an overall market drop of 159 points.Noteworthy trading activity was observed in KEL, HUMNL, and WTL, with new developments favouring KEL and WTL gaining 17.97 percent following a company notice issued at the PSX.

Auto stocks faced declines ranging from one percent to 7 percent due to sluggish April sales figures, he said.CPHL continued its upward trajectory, driven by news of potential arrangements with Chinese partners for API manufacturing. Similarly, Searle experienced momentum following announcements of a board meeting other than financial results.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 407.883 million shares which closed higher by 23 paisas to Rs1.51 per share. K-Electric Ltd. followed it with 68.032 million shares, which closed higher by 28 paisas to Rs4.68 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Hum Network, Secure Logistics Gro, Kot Addu Power, Ghani Global Glass, Telecard Limited, P.I.A.C. (A) and Ghani Glo Hol. In Future Market, 318 companies recorded trading, of which 102 increased, 211 decreased and 5 remained unchanged.