RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Bears dominated investors’ sentiments at Karachi stocks market on Monday.

The KSE-100 index shed 124 points to close at 33,732.91 compared to 33,857.00 of Friday last week. The benchmark index showed volatility and moved both ways to hit the intraday high and low of 33,908.33 and 33,717.84 points.

Trading volumes during the week’s first session decreased to 144 million shares from the previous 182 million. The traded value, however, appreciated to Rs 6.177 billion from Rs 5.93 billion. Of the 376 scrips traded, 122 gained, 231 lost and 23 ended up in status quo. The market capital accumulated to Rs 7.16 trillion as the foreign investors made net buying of $ 212,065.

TRG Pakistan led volumes with 15.4 million shares each depreciating to Rs38.71 at close. Other best performers were Pace Pakistan with 14.2 million shares, Bank of Punjab 9.5 million, Silk Bank 8.8 million, SSGC 7.9 million, SNGPL 7.7 million, K-Electric 5.8 million, Pak Refinery 4.0 million, Ghani Gases 3.7 million and Pak Elektron 3.3 million. The Futures market skyrocketed to 36.5 million contracts as compared to Friday’s 7.99 million.

“Stocks closed lower amid cautious activity on falling global crude prices and status quo in the SBP policy announcement on Saturday,” viewed Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp.

Investors’ fear on foreign selling, volatile global stocks and profit-taking in leveraged scrips, the analyst said, played a catalyst role in the index’s bearish close.

Mohammad Rizwan, head of sales at Topline Securities, said the SSGC remained the star performer on the back of expected announcement of its board meeting, as it appreciated by five percent. “Cement stocks faced the burnt as the authorities have been planning some new tax measures,” he said.

Some small caps like TRG, PACE, BOP and SILK topped the most active chart.