Pakistan bourse closes lower over economic upheaval

KARACHI: The Pakistan equity market closed on a negative note on Tuesday after remaining under pressure throughout the day where it moved both ways.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said that the US Fed is expected to raise interest rates to curtail rising inflation in the US which will further strengthen the dollar and the rupee will likely come under further strain.

“The oil and gas sector remained low on account of a decline in the international oil prices. Pakistan’s food import bill is expected to increase on account of lost crops in the floods which will further the pressure on the economy,” he added.

“Going forward, we expect the market to remain under pressure. Hence, we recommend our investors adopt the “Sell on Strength” strategy in the upcoming sessions.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index shed 299.62 points, or 0.72 per cent to close at 41220.91 points. The KSE-30 shares Index shed 155.58 points, or one per cent, to close at 15447.48 points.

An analyst at JS Global said that the market remained range-bound mainly due to lack of positive triggers. “The KSE-100 Index closed at 41,221, losing 300 points on a daily basis. Going forward, we expect range-bound activity to continue and recommend investors to stay cautious.”

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said the stocks witnessed bearish activity on investors’ concerns over the economic uncertainty and aggressive rate hikes on the Roshan Digital Accounts.

“Estimates over subdued growth in the fiscal year 2023, flash flood losses and weakening rupee on agriculture imports played a catalyst role in the bearish close,” he added.

As many as 322 scrips were active of which 95 advanced, 204 declined and 23 remained unchanged.
The ready market volumes stood at 156.57 million shares, compared with the turnover of 148.21 million shares in the last trading session.

The companies which reflected the highest gains included Sapphire Fiber up Rs75.06 to close at Rs1,075.88/share, and Premium Textile up Rs15 to close at Rs799/share.

The companies which reflected the most losses included Sapphire Textile Rs70.51 to close at Rs1,020.50/share, and Faisal Spinning down Rs30.60 to close at Rs408.40/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in K-Electric with a turnover of 18.41 million shares. The scrip shed 8 paisas to close at Rs3/share, followed by TPL Properties with a turnover of 14.43 million shares. It gained 29 paisas to close at Rs19.90/share. TRG Pakistan remained the third with a turnover of 14.35 million shares. It shed Rs3.70 to finish at Rs114.64/share.

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