PSX falls, erasing most of this week’s gains

Stocks fell over one percent on Thursday as investors booked profits after a recent rally, erasing most of the gains made earlier this week, dealers said.

They added that equities once again witnessed dreary activity where most volumes went through in small and mid cap names while index names struggled for direction throughout the day on slender participation.

Analyst Adnan Sami Sheikh at Topline Securities said after rallying around 1,100 points since last Friday, the benchmark index witnessed heavy profit taking. “Although a small correction after such a rally may have been expected, the selling pressure might have been amplified due to the Sind CM’s comments regarding nationwide gas shutdown and the resurgence of Indo-Pak tensions.” The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s KSE-100 shares index shed 1.05 percent or 506.68 points to close at 47,950.58 points. KSE-30 shares index shed 1.33 points or 342.58 points to end at 25,459.99 points. As many as 386 scrips were active of which 96 advanced, 269 declined and 21 remained unchanged. The ready market volumes stood at 233.386 million as compared to 217.818 million shares a day earlier. Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Limited said stocks closed sharply lower on concerns over economic uncertainty amid fiscal and energy challenges.

“Auto, cement and banking stocks supported the index on upbeat sales data and reports of rising banking spreads. However, concerns for outcome of regulatory actions on non-compliant brokerage firms and uncertainty over Pak-India relations played a catalytic role in bearish close.”

Nabeel Haroon at JS Global said market opened on a positive note but failed to sustain as investors flocked to realise profits from previous trading sessions. “Selling in the market was witnessed across the board. Decline in the market was led by banking and E&P sector as they lost value to weigh down on the index,” he added. HBL (down 2.08 percent) and UBL (down 1.33 percent) remained the major index movers in the banking sector, whereas in the E&P space, OGDC (down 2.22 percent) and POL (down 2.10 percent) lost value to close in the red zone, as crude oil prices slid to consolidate around $53/bbl level. Mari Petroleum (down 5.0 percent) also came under the hammer on the back of the news that government intends to sell off 18.3 percent stake in the company through a secondary public offering.

Engro Foods (down 2.25 percent) lost value to close in the red zone as the dairy company declared below expectation 1Q2017 result. In its result, the company reported EPS of Rs0.43/share which was lower than the street estimate. Companies reflecting highest gains include Sapphire Textile up by Rs62.93 to end at Rs1321.58/share and Exide Pakistan up Rs31.24 to end at Rs888.90/share. Companies reflecting highest losses include Mari Petroleum down Rs79.28 to Rs1506.38/share and Rafhan maize down Rs50 to end at Rs7000/share.

Highest volumes were witnessed in Aisha Steel Mill with a turnover of 20.018 million shares. The scrip shed 94 paisas to close at Rs24.4/share. Lotte Chemical was second with a turnover of 17.124 million shares. It gained 29 paisas to end at Rs11.16/share. Sui Southern Gas (SSGC) was third with a turnover of 14.218 million shares. It gained Rs1.65 to finish at Rs26.54/share.