Stocks end lower in roller-coaster trade

Stocks on Wednesday swung wildly to wound up in the negative territory on cues the beleaguered government is likely at a serious disadvantage in its political struggle against the opposition, traders said.

KSE-100 Shares Index, the benchmark of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), lost 101.14 points or 0.23 percent to settle down at 44,337.56 points after touching a high of 44,444.87 and a low of 43,975.75 points during the intraday trade.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp, said a free falling rupee amid political uncertainty stemming from no-trust vote against the Prime Minister bore down on the stocks.

Concerns over current account deficit and higher import bills impacting the rupee added to the selling pressure, Mehanti said.

He added that fertiilser, cement, and textile scrips supported the index to close above day’s low.

KSE-30 Shares Index fell 60.25 points or 0.35 percent to 16,923.07 points.

Trade volume improved 76 million shares to 344.13 million from 268.91 million shares, whereas value rose to Rs7.779 billion from Rs7.174 billion.

Turnover in the future contracts increased to 96.56 million shares from 82.89 million shares.

Market capital decreased to Rs7.481 trillion from Rs7.482 trillion. Out of total active scrips, 158 posted gains, 169 losses, while 27 remained unchanged.

Muhammad Arbash at Topline Securities said rising political uncertainty led the market to open sideways where it hit an intraday low of 463 points.

However, some recovery was witnessed in the second half of the session, Arbash said.

OGDC, FFC, and PSO cumulatively dented the index by 57 points, while MCB, MEBL, and UBL lost to profit-taking.

Rafhan Maize led the performers, gaining Rs500 to end at Rs12,000/share, followed by Nestle Pakistan XD, which grabbed Rs90 to close at Rs5,500/share.

To become the worst bleeder of the day, Otsuka Pak, shed Rs19.12 to Rs235.88 per share, followed by Packages Ltd. that decreased by Rs14.58 to Rs428.27 per share.

Mubashir Anis Naviwala, an analyst at JS Research, said the market was on a rollercoaster ride as political turmoil had peaked in the country.

“Going forward, we recommend investors to remain cautious at current levels and wait for any fresh buying,” Naviwala said.

Country’s politics are heading towards a showdown between the government and the opposition that is whetting a sharp-edged parliamentary tool in the shape of no-trust motion to cut this regime’s tenure short. The infighting-marred ruling alliance on Wednesday suffered another political blow after MQM announced it had given up on PTI and was out of the alliance.

The government looks aflutter as Prime Minister Imran Khan’s address to the nation, scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed until further announcement.

Analysts say the first casualty of a change in the government is most likely to be economy, which is currently wobbling ahead on the crutches of loans, grants, and aids.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said the index stayed in the red territory the whole day due to political unrest and further devaluation of rupee against the dollar.

“Mainboard activity remained dull. On the flip-side, activity continued to remain sideways as the market witnessed hefty volumes in the 3rd tier stocks,” it noted.

K-Electric Ltd led volumes chart with 38.41 million shares, followed by Ghani Global Holding with 31.11 million shares. Stocks that recorded significant turnover included WorldCall Telecom, Pak Elektron (R), Treet Corp, Telecard Limited, TPL Properties, TPL Corp Ltd, Agritech Limited, and Waves Singer.