Pak Sukuk Excitement Fades As Index Ends In The Red

KARACHI: The Sukuk offering helped the index off to a positive start before institutional selling took its toll as the market ended in the red.

At close, the Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index declined 0.59% or 184.37 points to end at 31,270.10.

Elixir Securities analyst Haris Ahmed Batla said Pakistan equities opened positive, cheering Sukuk offer and on bets of positive macros in the days ahead. “However, excitement soon faded on reports of institutional selling as investors seemed keen to reduce exposure ahead of the PTI gathering,” said Batla. “Index heavy oil stocks tracked global crude prices and closed red with Oil and Gas Development Cooperation (OGDC, -1.7%) while Engro Corp (ENGRO, -2.5%) corrected on reported foreign selling.”

Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Muhammad Mobeen said the pharmaceutical sector remained in the limelight, led by Ferozsons Laboratories which continued its unabated run on the back of acquiring sole rights to market and sell a groundbreaking Hepatitis-C drug. “SEARL and ABOT also closed within the green zone as the ahead of the pricing policy and is expected to have multiple incentives for the sector.”  Trade volumes fell to 197 million shares compared to 246 million on Wednesday.

Shares of 370 companies were traded on Thursday. Of these, 230 companies declined, 115 closed higher while 25 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.5 billion. Jahangir Siddiqui and Company was the volume leader with 20.4 million shares, losing Rs1.00 to close at Rs15.72. It was followed by TRG Pakistan with 17.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.63 to close at Rs11.43 and Maple Leaf Cement with 9.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.42 to close at Rs34.91.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs175 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Originally published on www.tribune.com.pk