The Pakistan Stock Exchange was under pressure on Wednesday due to cautious strategy of investors and selling of large shares. The benchmark KSE-100 index closed down 1,370.52 points at 168,021.80. On a daily basis, the index recorded a decrease of 0.81 percent. Official data of Pakistan Stock Exchange also shows the same closing level and decrease.
Business started at 169,151.90 points. In the initial phase, the index reached 169,382.01, but later the selling trend increased. The lowest level of KSE-100 during the day was 167,849.70. Thus, there was a difference of more than 1,532 points between the high and low levels.
The overall direction of the market also remained weak. Of the 100 companies in the KSE-100, 76 declined while 21 advanced. Share prices of three companies remained at their previous levels. This data shows that the decline was not limited to a few large stocks but there was selling pressure across a large segment of the market.
The biggest pressure on the index was exerted by shares of FFC, NBP, ENGROH, HBL and LUCK. The negative contribution of these five companies dragged the overall index down significantly. On the contrary, AICL, PSEL, UBL, FABL and GLAXO provided some support.
Among the sectoral performance, commercial banks were the most significant negative contributor. This sector had a negative impact of 373.70 points on the KSE-100. The negative contribution of fertilizer companies was 292.21 points, while the cement sector shed 183.78 points. Shares of investment companies and oil and gas exploration companies also added pressure to the index.
On the other hand, sectors related to insurance, miscellaneous companies, synthetic fibers, tobacco and vanaspati made limited positive contributions. However, buying in these sectors could not completely eliminate the pressure coming from major negative sectors.
Weakness was also seen in the broader market. The All Share Index closed at 101,556.93, down 689.83 points or 0.67 percent. According to PSX, a total of 356.14 million shares were traded and transactions worth Rs 19.49 billion were made. There were 278,324 trades in the market, in which shares of 121 companies increased and shares of 320 decreased. The prices of 55 companies remained unchanged.
The KMI-30 index also closed down 2,154.95 points to 238,953.80, a decrease of 0.89%. The index’s top losers included FFC, ENGROH, LUCK, PPL and MARI.
Wednesday’s decline came after a rally the day before. On September 15, the KSE-100 index had closed at 169,392.32, up 1,421.67 points. Investors then preferred to take profits in some big stocks on Wednesday, which led the market to turn negative again.
Recent data also shows that the stock market continues to fluctuate on a daily basis. According to PSX, the KSE-100 index is down 6.81 percent so far this fiscal year, while it has recorded a decline of 3.47 percent since the beginning of the calendar year. However, the index has gained 7.58% in the past one year.
The overall scenario of the recent session indicates that despite the buying in the market, selling pressure in the heavyweights was important in determining the direction of the index. In the upcoming session, investors will focus on the performance of big banks, fertilizer and cement companies as well as overall trading volume.
