Stocks close negative as political temperature rises

Stocks closed negative on Tuesday and investors opted to close positions amid rising political temperature ahead of the federal budget, dealers said.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said stocks closed bearish amid investor concerns over $27.3 billion trade deficit and pre-budget anxiety.

“Recovery in global equities and crude oil prices invited midsession support in cement, autos and oil scrips. However, reports on falling banking spreads, dismal economic data on external financing and concerns over surging current account deficit played a catalytic role in the bearish close,” he said.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 shares index shed 0.22 percent or 103.89 points to close at 46,476.73 points. KSE-30 shares index shed 0.24 percent or 57.09 points to close at 23,341.60 points. As many as 372 scrips were active of which 210 advanced, 146 declined and 16 remained unchanged.

The ready market volumes stood at 219.83 million shares as compared with the turnover of 202.78 million shares a day earlier.

Analyst Mohammad Arbash at Elixir Securities said equities closed marginally negative on relatively lower volumes as key sectors witnessed profit-taking. The market started on a positive note and the benchmark index tested the intraday high of 46,679 points level.

“Fertilisers led the gains amid possible hike in urea prices, as industry officials warned of possible supply constraints due to hoardings by dealers ahead of summer crops,” the analyst added.

Commercial banks witnessed profit taking after State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported that investments of scheduled banks declined 11 percent during March 2018 as the sector witnessed hefty investment maturities during the period.

Bank Al Habib down 4.0 percent, Habib Bank down 0.8 percent, MCB Bank down 0.9 percent and United Bank down 0.62 percent dented the index.

Pressure mounted as investors booked profits in the cement scrips wherein almost all the shares in this sector closed in red.

Moving forward, analysts expect overall activity to remain volatile in the coming sessions with flows from foreigners and local institutions guiding the market.

Companies with the highest gains included Nestle Pakistan, up Rs121 to close at Rs12,980/share, and Exide Pakistan, up Rs20.67 to close at Rs434.18/share.

Companies reflecting most losses included Colgate Palmolive, down Rs153.99 to close at Rs2,946.01/share, and Pakistan Tobacco, down Rs25 to end at Rs1,900/share.

Highest volumes were witnessed in Lotte Chemical with a turnover of 18.023 million shares. The scrip gained 22 paisas to close at Rs11.13/share. Engro Polymer was second with a turnover of 15.48 million shares. It gained 22 paisas to close at Rs38.90/share. TRG Pakistan was third with a turnover of 9.4 million shares. It shed 13 paisas to close at Rs36.84/share.