PSX remains bearish, Index losses 248.49 points

KARACHI: The Pakistan equity market again observed a profit-taking session on the back of concerns regarding the ongoing joint parliament session and anticipated hike in the interest rates, dealers said on Wednesday.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said despite the rupee appreciation, selling pressure persisted at the bourse.

“The cement sector eroded 120 points from the index, as the monetary policy is expected to tighten further, amid rising inflationary pressure on the economy.”

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares index shed 0.75 per cent, or 248.49 points, to close at 46,194.42 points. The KSE-30 shares index shed 0.81 per cent, or 146.39 points, to close at 17,952.03 points.

As many as 343 scrips were active, of which 83 advanced, 251 declined and 19 remained unchanged. The ready market volumes stood at 238.49 million shares, compared with the turnover of 243.19 million shares in the last trading session.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said bearish momentum was witnessed, as aggressive tightening of 100bps expected in the upcoming preponed monetary policy announcement.

“With mounting inflationary expectations and rising secondary market yields, across-the-board sell-off was observed just after the opening bell of the market, mainly led by the cement, steel and technology stocks.”

Accumulation was witnessed in the banking stocks, as the investors opted for cautious approach. In the last trading hour, value hunting was seen by the institutional buyers.

Going forward, analysts expect the market to take direction after the monetary policy announcement, scheduled on Friday.

The companies, which reflected the highest gains included Sapphire Fiber, up Rs44.5 to close at Rs840/share; and Systems Limited, up Rs20.71 to close at Rs818.09/share.

The companies that reflected the most losses included Gatron Industries, down Rs39.73 to close at Rs490.07/share; and Murree Brewery, down Rs35.4 to close at Rs464.6/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in Services Fabrics with a turnover of 18.93 million shares. The scrip shed 12 paisas to close at Rs11.94/share; followed by TRG Pakistan with a turnover of 15.96 million shares. It shed Rs9.78 to close at Rs120.67/share. Ghani Global remained the third with a turnover of 13.96 million shares. It shed Rs2.08 paisas to finish at Rs31.65.