Bloodbath at PSX over severe economic pressure

• The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index shed 537.43 points, or 1.28 per cent, to close at 41,612.67 points.
• The index dropped 632.29 points intraday and closed in the red zone.
• Analysts suggest investors adopt “Sell on Strength” strategy in the upcoming sessions.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained under severe pressure on Monday, where it witnessed a bloodbath with rock-bottom volumes, analysts said.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said that Saudi Arabia has extended the term for a $3 billion deposit to support the Pakistani economy. However, Pakistan repaying $1 billion Sukuk dismissing the perception of default did not trigger the investor to participate in the market.

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) review for releasing its next tranche of funding has been pending since September which has also worried the stockholders,” he added.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index shed 537.43 points, or 1.28 per cent, to close at 41,612.67 points. The KSE-30 shares Index shed 228.06 points, or 1.46 per cent, to close at 15,360.25 points.

As many as 329 scrips were active of which 61 advanced, 250 declined and 18 remained unchanged.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened in the green, but lack of investor participation and redemptions caused the index to drop 632.29 points intraday and close in the red zone.

“Volumes in the mainboard dried up notably as a result of political noise in the country, while the third-tier companies continued to lead the volume board,” he added.

Going forward, the analysts expect the market to remain under pressure due to political unrest and the unclear economic situation. Hence, suggest investors adopt the “Sell on Strength” strategy in the upcoming sessions.

The ready market volumes stood at 126.25 million shares, compared with the turnover of 143.20 million shares in the last trading session.
The companies which reflected the highest gains included Pak Services up Rs64.57 to close at Rs926.31/share, and Reliance Cotton up Rs40 to close at Rs705/share.

The companies which reflected the most losses included Premium Textile down Rs35.11 to close at Rs650/share, and J.D.W.Sugar down Rs27.72 to close at Rs416.28/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in WorldCall Telecom with a turnover of 9.84 million shares. The scrip shed 5 paisas to close at Rs1.36/share, followed by Fauji Cement with a turnover of 9.47 million shares. It shed 65 paisas to close at Rs12.51/share. Hascol Petrol remained the third with a turnover of 8.03 million shares. It gained 7 paisas to close at Rs7.76/share.

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