Stocks drift sideways to edge lower

Stocks on Thursday bounced between tight support and resistance to inch lower with lockdown-driven economic misgiving remaining the main excuse for profit-selling, traders said.

The benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index shed 149 points or 0.31 percent to close at 47,640.88 points, shuttling between a day high of 47,896.84 points and a low of 47,583.87 points.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), according to Ahsan Mehanti, senior analyst at Arif Habib Corp, closed lower because of late-session selling amid global equity selloff and concerns over possible economic fallout of anti-Covid lockdowns in Pakistan.

He said early session support came from reports about upbeat exports and strong financial results in the banking sector.

“Slump in global crude oil prices and worries over delay in the release of $400 million World Bank loan support for energy sector reforms dragged the index down,” Mehanti said.

Following the overall trend, KSE-30 Shares Index also cast off 52.95 points or 0.28 percent to close at 19,042.94 points.

Volume increased 14 million shares to 546.81 million against 532.95 million a day earlier, while trading value rose to Rs15.37 billion from Rs15.15 billion. Market capital reduced to Rs8.364 trillion from Rs8.371 trillion. Out of 492 active names in the session, 212 gained, 263 lost, while 17 stuck to.

Muhammad Arbash, an analyst at Topline Securities, said after a tad positive opening, the market traded sideways and was ultimately forced down by last-hour profit-taking.

Technology sector declined the most where SYS and TRG dented the index by 30 points cumulatively followed by cements and financial sector where BAHL, MCB, LUCK, and MLCF were the major laggards, Arbash added.

Unilever Foods, up Rs99.50 to close at Rs16,999.50 per share, emerged as the best gainer of the day, followed by Ismail Industries, up Rs29.95 to Rs429.95 per share.

Pakistan Services took the biggest hit of the session to lose Rs72.52 to close at Rs894.48 per share, followed by Nestle Pakistan that slipped by Rs66.82 to end at Rs5,983.18 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Limited in a note said the market traded in a narrow range between -207 points and +107 points.

Profit booking was still at work, particularly in technology, banks, oil & gas marketers, and chemical stocks, whereas steel and cement stocks saw a continuation of consolidation, the brokerage said.

“Rupee-dollar parity has been stable; however, the outlook suggests an appreciation is in the offing that kept the investors undecided on portfolio positions,” it said.

Shares that saw a notable change of hands included PTCL, TPL Corp Ltd, Telecard Limited, Ghanti Glo Hol, Hum Network,

Jahangir Siddiqui & Co Ltd, WorldCall Telecom, Yousuf Weaving, Agritech Limited, and Kohinoor Spinning.

With a turnover of 62.13 million shares, PTCL was the highest traded stock of the day, while it gained 58 paisas to close at Rs12.63 per share. It was followed by TPL Corp Ltd that posted a trade volume of 42.66 million shares, losing 95 paisas to end at Rs23.93 per share.

Turnover in the futures contracts rose to 138.86 million shares from 124.62 million shares on Wednesday.