Karachi, August 26, 2019: Start of the rollover week marked the return of pain for investors as Pakistan Stock Market ended the session at a bearish note with an intraday slide of 939 points.
Selling pressure was observed across the board, with major pressure in E&P, Cement, Power and Steel sectors. Crude oil prices hinted a decline, which triggered the selling in E&P Stocks.
LOTCHEM announced financial results today, and posted a hefty bottom line, resulting in largest volumes on the bourse with price gains, which were kept in check by overall slide in market.
Prime Minister is also scheduled to address the nation in the evening, which also hinted a tough tone on Pakistan-India confrontation, although the major drive behind today’s sell-off appears more of a short-covering strategy by short sellers and should subside in the coming sessions.
The Index closed at 30,521 points as against 31,350 points showing a decline of 829 points (-2.6 percent DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-208 points), Banks (-142 points), Fertilizer (-118 points), Cement (-89 points) and O&GMCs (-64 points).
Volumes declined significantly from 230.7 million shares to 122.1 million shares (-47 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 47 percent to reach US$ 24.1 million as against US$ 45.8 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include LOTCHEM, BOP, MLCF, KEL and PAEL, which formed 36 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively include PAKT (+29 points), BAFL (+3 points), FATIMA (+2 points), GSKCH (+2 points) and LOTCHEM (+2 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include OGDC (-84 points), PPL (-70 points), ENGRO (-68 points), LUCK (-48 points) and HUBC (-46 points).
