KARACHI: Investors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a range-bound session on Monday, with the indices swaying both ways in search of a clear direction before closing in the red.
Equity markets around the globe showed a mixed performance, whereas crude oil prices slipped lower from the previous close; WTI crude price declining 0.82pc to $45.86 while Brent crude oil price falling 0.75pc to $48.88.
“The market traded in a narrow range today after opening on a positive note, which depicted investors’ general lack of interest due to concerns over political uncertainty,” a report issued by Arif Habib Limited read. “Selling pressure was most evident in cement sector stocks; however, E&Ps also failed to perform amid dwindling oil prices in the international market.”
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 Index endured a volatile start to the week, touching its intraday high at 42,321.37 (+114.37 points) and low at 42,047.00 (-160.00 points). It settled lower by 91.69 points at 42,115.31.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index dropped 282.26 points to end at 68,014.35, while the KSE All Share Index lost 66.93 points, closing at 29,482.48.
The overall market volumes declined from 427.9 million shares in the previous session to 380.5 million shares (-11pc). Average traded value also fell 2pc, from $113.3 million to $111.6 million. TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +2.07pc), Unity Foods Ltd (UNITY +2.02pc) and Ghani Global Holdings Right Shares (GGLR1 -3.57pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 41.31 million, 33.26 million and 18.04 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that dragged the benchmark index lower included oil & gas exploration (-53.60 points), cement (-25.67 points) and oil & gas marketing (-13.94 points). Among the companies, Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (OGDC -26.95 points), Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL -25.09 points) and MCB Bank Ltd (MCB -14.86 points) dented the index the most.
Shedding 1.29pc from its total market capitalization, the oil & gas exploration sector ended as the session’s worst performer, with OGDC (-1.71pc), PPL (-1.79pc) and Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (MARI -0.27pc) ending in the negative.
Meanwhile, in a notification to the exchange, The Organic Meat Company Limited (TOMCL +2.56pc) announced that it has secured a contract for supply of frozen boneless meat with a multinational customer in Saudi Arabia. The 12-month project is expected to cost approximately $3.90 million.
