RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange was consumed by strong selling pressure on Tuesday culminating in a decidedly bearish session across-the-board.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index fell sharply, losing 752.05 points to settle at 160,935.13 points, marking a 0.47 percent decline from its previous close of 161,687.18 points. During the session, the KSE100 index oscillated between the high of 162,344.66 points and low of 160,583.90 before settling near to the lower level.

The BRIndex100 closed at 16,968.05, a drop of 86.01 points or 0.5 percent, with a total volume of approximately 1.24 billion shares. The BRIndex30 also recorded losses, closing at 54,251.23, which was 180.36 points or 0.33 percent lower, recording a total volume of approximately 1.00 billion shares.

In its post-session analysis, Topline Securities stated that the local bourse witnessed a tug of war between the bulls and bears. Despite early attempts at a rebound, the bears ultimately seized control as the benchmark index closed lower. The brokerage house noted that with international markets trading in the red, the local bourse followed the global trend, while a notable lack of fresh positive news flows prompted investors to trim their positions and book profits, keeping sentiment cautious throughout the session.

Index-heavy companies including PIOC, POL, PSEL, DGKC, and PTC posted notable gains, collectively contributing 206 points to the benchmark. On the flip side, the heavyweights responsible for dragging the index down included ENGROH, MEBL, BAHL, and UBL, which together pulled the index lower by a substantial 360 points.

The market’s overall wealth contracted significantly, with the total ready market capitalization shedding over Rs74 billion as it dropped from a previous figure of Rs18.449 trillion to close at Rs18.376 trillion.

Despite the pessimistic mood, activity in the ready market remained robust, with total share turnover surging to 1.55 billion shares, a notable increase from the previous session’s 1.21 billion shares. This high volume, however, did not prevent the aggregate traded value from contracting slightly to 38.86 billion from the previous day’s 41.38 billion shares.

The day’s trading reflected a clear imbalance, as 249 companies declined in value, far outweighing the 179 scrips that managed to post gains out of 474 traded companies.

The trading floor saw heavy movement, dominated by a few key stocks. WorldCall Telecom led the turnover charts by a large margin, trading 459.33 million shares to close at Rs2.05. It was followed by Bank Makramah, which saw 166.20 million shares traded, closing at Rs5.99, and Beco Steel Ltd, contributing 134.30 million shares to the turnover, ending at Rs8.18.

On the price front, Supernet Technologies Limited was the day’s star performer, soaring Rs171.04 to close at Rs1,882.61. Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited also posted a gain of Rs150.32 and ended the day at Rs29,649.99. Conversely, the steepest loss belonged to Khyber Textile Mills Limited, which tumbled Rs143.18 points, closing at Rs1,766.82. Moreover, Gillette Pakistan Limited also lost Rs33.45 and stood at Rs331.37.

Sector-specific indices generally confirmed the negative market trend. The BR Automobile assembler index closed lower at 24,500.87 points, registering a loss of 111.78 points or 0.45 percent, with a corresponding turnover of approximately 2.79 million shares. The BR Cement Index also saw a minor dip, closing at 12,715.95 with a decrease of 9.95 points or 0.08 percent, but traded a high volume of approximately 55.13 Million shares.

The biggest sectoral loss was recorded by the BR Commercial banks index, which fell 390.2 points or 0.81 percent to 48,039.30 points. Breaking the trend was the BR Tech. & Comm. Index, which closed marginally higher with a 0.26 percent gain, recording the highest sectoral turnover of approximately 538.82 million shares, suggesting specific investor interest in the technology space.

BR Cement Index closed at 12,715.95 with a net negative change of 9.95 points or a percentage change of 0.08 and a total turnover of 55.13 million shares. Meanwhile, BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 25,058.53 with a net negative change of 118.35 points or a percentage change of 0.47 and a total turnover remaining 102.65 million shares.