Stocks down 283 points amid political noise

KARACHI: Stocks closed lower by 283 points amid a decline in global equity markets and political noise in the country.The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index closed lower by 282.72 points or 0.36 per cent to 78,615 points against 78,897.73 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 79,214.69 points while the lowest level was recorded at 78,545.69 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed lower amid slump in global equities and concerns for political noise.”He said uncertainty over IMF approvals on the Rs2.8 trillion funding plan to resolve circular debt crises and expectations over a cautious SBP policy to cut key policy rate this week played a catalyst role in the bearish close.

The KSE-30 index decreased by 151.44 points or 0.61 per cent to 24,856.43 points against 25,007.87 points.Traded shares dropped by 252 million shares to 491.124 million shares from 743.072 million shares. The trading value decreased to Rs10.124 billion from Rs12.900 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs10.453 trillion against Rs10.477 trillion. Of 443 companies active in the session, 155 closed in green, 228 in red and 60 remained unchanged.

Naveed Nadeem, an analyst at Topline Securities, said the stock market fell by 283 points, or 0.36 percent, ending the day at 78,615. Throughout the trading session, the index saw considerable volatility, peaking at 79,214 and dipping to 78,546.

This decline was largely attributed to MTL, HUBC, UBL, HBL, and MEBL, which together accounted for a 354-point drop.The highest increase was recorded in Haleon Pakistan Limited, which rose by Rs41.13 to Rs453.32 per share, followed by Service Industries Limited, which increased by Rs29.37 to Rs1,039.47 per share. A significant decline was noted in Pakistan Engineering Company Limited, which fell by Rs50.8 to Rs898.7 per share, Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs48.12 to Rs7,300.88 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that the KSE-100 saw another pullback from above 79k after reaching intraday highs of 79.2k. MTL (-6.55 per cent) emerged as the largest index drag after announcing FY24 EPS of Rs51.7, a 194 percent increase year-on-year. Despite record net sales, the market was disappointed by the pending merger with Millat Equipment Limited, which requires approval from the Lahore High Court and currently prevents MTL from paying additional dividends, limiting the FY24 cash dividend to an already paid interim DPS of Rs25.

A positive takeaway from Monday’s session was the strong performance of larger cement names like PIOC (+4.8 percent), DGKC (+1.78 percent), and LUCK (+1.29 percent). The continued participation of cement stocks is seen as essential for sustaining index momentum.

The outlook remains positive above the 78k level, with expectations for cement stocks to outperform this week. WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 86 million shares which closed higher by 4 paisas to Rs1.46 per share. Kohinoor Spinning followed it with 42.932 million shares, which closed higher by 31 paisas to Rs9.63 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Pace (Pak) Ltd, Trust Modaraba, Waves Home App, Cnergyico PK, Fauji Foods Ltd, K-Electric Ltd, Telecard Limited and Dewan Motors. In the futures market, 333 companies recorded trading, of which 102 increased, 222 decreased and 9 remained unchanged.