KARACHI: The Pakistan bourse tumbled around one per cent during the week ended August 27, 2021, and the market performance is likely to remain range-bound, amid the political turmoil in Afghanistan, and uncertainty surrounding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) review, likely to commence from September 21, 2021, analysts said on Saturday.

“However, from the sector-wise perspective, the currency devaluation bodes well for textiles and E&Ps, while for import-driven sectors such as cement and steel, their ability to pass on the cost further will be tested. Moreover, flow-based movement on account of MSCI Review will also impact [the] market sentiment,” an analyst at AKD Securities said.

The week ended with the news of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin announcing the Roshan Apna Ghar Scheme for overseas Pakistanis, which would allow them to buy a home in Pakistan and also apply for attractive financing through their Roshan Digital Accounts.

The index closed on a negative note this week, losing 463 points on the concerns over increase in the number of Covid cases, regional politics’ influence and the lack of positive triggers.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares index shed 0.97 per cent, or 463.29 points, to close at 47,136.53 points. The KSE-30 shares index shed 0.99 per cent, or 189.25 points, to close at 18,913.79 points.

Participation during the week remained strong with average daily traded volume standing at 384.1 million shares against 265.7 million shares witnessed last week.

“On the news front, the finance minister emphasised on the need to reduce prices of cement and steel products to help lift the construction industry. The Ministry of Planning and Development has reportedly written letters to other ministries to exclude non-essential development projects from the Rs900 billion PSDP budget marked for FY22,” Muhammad Waqas at JS Global Capital said.

During the week, the rupee lost its value sharply and the rupee/dollar parity saw a low of 166.3. Moreover, the latest data showed a 21 per cent decline in foreign investors’ repatriations. The situation on the external account improved in July, as the central bank reported a current account deficit of $773 million against $1.61 billion in June 2021 that had resulted from one-offs in imports.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said the stocks had a bearish outgoing week, witnessing only one positive day due to uncertainty over the US exit from Afghanistan, depreciating currency, rollover week and the spread of Covid, as Pakistan reported highest active cases since April 29, 2021.

“Going forward, we expect the market to turn positive post-rollover week; hence, we recommend our investors to adopt the “Buy on Dip” strategy in the upcoming week.”