Stocks head further south as hedge-betting intensifies

Stocks suffered another blow on Friday as investors fiercely hedged their bets given the virus crisis, cold-shouldering some good results at the end of the rollover week, dealers said.

Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) KSE-100 Shares Index shed 1.34 percent or 600.76 points to close at 44,262.35 points. Volumes were almost flat at 293.74 million shares from 280.67 million shares in the last trading session.

Topline Securities in a note said the market opened on a positive note as index gained to make an intraday high of 194 points, attributable to healthy result announcements at the opening.

However, market soon came under selling pressure due to last day of rollover week and limited trading hours, the brokerage said.

KSE-30 Shares Index, tracking the benchmark lost 1.37 percent or 250.66 points to close at 18,100.64 points.

As many as 367 scrips were active of which 84 advanced, 273 declined and 10 remained unchanged.

Brokerage Arif Habib Limited in a review said end of rollover week had a painful impact on market, causing the index to tumble 711 points during the session.

Leveraged stocks like Netsol Technologies, TRG Pakistan, and Unity Foods, which had significant outstanding balance in the Deliverable Future Contract created

negative sentiment, despite TRG Pakistan declaring good results with a hefty payout, the brokerage said.

According to the brokerage report, Netsol, on the other hand, posted negative earnings for the quarter and as a result hit its lower circuit.

Besides, selling pressure was observed across the board with United Bank contributing to loss on points table among banking sector stocks with the exception of Habib Bank that maintained the level above last closing price, the brokerage added.

Major contributions to the index came from Bank Al Habib, which gained 1.7 percent, Habib Bank 0.64 percent, Standard Chartered Bank 4.29 percent, Shifa Hospital 3.79 percent, and AGP Limited that rose 2.39 percent.

On the other hand, TRG Pakistan down 5.4 percent, Hub Power Company down 1.74 percent, Systems Limited down 3.3 percent, National Bank down 5.7 percent and National Refinery down 6.4 percent weighed down on the index by 120 points.

Muhammad Mubashar at JS Global said the market opened on a positive note but could not breach the intraday resistance level of 45,100 as rising Covid-19 concerns shattered investors' confidence.

“With the expectation that volatility will prevail due to Covid concerns, we recommend investors to book profits on the higher side and wait for any sharp dips to accumulate value stocks in the cement, refinery, and steel sectors,” Mubashir added.

Pakistan on Friday reported at least 131 more deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, according to the latest statistics issued by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC).

The NCOC-released numbers showed 5,112 new positive cases after the tests of 49,099 people. The positivity ratio remains at 10.41 percent.

Island Textile, up Rs143.88 to close at Rs2,062.33/share, and Sapphire Textile, up Rs63.82 to close at Rs915.49/share, grabbed the highest gains.

Philip Morris Pakistan, down Rs48.90 to close at Rs850/share, and National Refinery, down Rs38.63 to end at Rs562.38/share, suffered most losses in the day.

Ghani Global with 34.82 million shares led volumes, trailed by TRG Pakistan with a trade of 26.23 million shares, while Telecard Limited with 22.85 million shares was the third highest traded share.