Stocks market is expected remain range-bound due to dull activity by individuals, while political uncertainty and economic concerns would continue to dent the investor confidence, dealers said. The equity market corrected another 1.4 percent during the week ended November 17 on political noise and reduction in weightage in the Morgan Stanley Capital International emerging market index. Analyst Faizan Ahmed at JS Global Capital said there was lacklustre trade as most of the euphoria, witnessed during the previous sessions, fizzled out as political headwinds re-emerged. “Unsettling news over timing of elections, ongoing court cases involving ex-prime minister, finance minister and Imran Khan made a perfect cocktail to keep investors wary of making fresh investments,” Ahmed added. The KSE 100-share index of Pakistan Stock Exchange shed 1.42 percent or 591.3 points to close the week at 40,844.40 points. KSE 30-share index shed 2.08 points or 440.79 points to end at 20,662.51 points. More importantly, the trading activity slumped far more significantly as average daily traded volumes declined 21 percent to 106 million shares/day. Arif Habib Limited, in a report, downgrade of shares in the Morgan Stanley Capital International emerging market index led the market downtrend. Meanwhile, interest in international oil prices disappeared due to growing US stockpiles and Russia admitting indecisiveness on further oil cuts. Foreigners were net buyers of equities worth $1.1 million during the week as against net selling of $1.8 million in the previous week, whereas domestic mutual funds were major sellers of equities worth $16 million. Buying was concentrated in oil marketing sector, attracting $9.9 million whereas banking sector saw a selling of $8.9 million. Textile spinning, refinery and power generation sectors contributed bulk of the declines. The latter two came under limelight as the government reportedly shut down 8,000 megawatts of power plants amidst reduced seasonal demand and higher generation from other sources. “Driven by guaranteed capacity payments, power sector is largely immune to such shutdowns,” Topline Securities said. “However, refinery sector stands to bear the brunt in case the curtailment prolongs and leads to lower demand for furnace oil.” Foreign exchange reserves declined $217 million during the week on the back of external debt servicing. Additionally, trade deficit surged to $12.1 billion during the first four month of the current fiscal year. Foreign direct investment maintained an upward momentum, moving up 74 percent supported by rising Chinese and Malaysian investments. Pakistan is to receive $4.7 billion under new business plans of Asian Development Bank, with loans to energy, transport, agriculture, water, public sector management, finance and social sectors.
