DAILY MARKET WRAP

DAILY MARKET WRAP

PSX Breaks Winning Streak!

Bears of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) put an end to the winning streak on Tuesday. The benchmark indices oscillated throughout the session, ultimately closing in the red, while overall trading volumes contracted compared to the previous day.

On the global front, equity markets exhibited mixed performance. Crude oil prices continued their downward trend with WTI crude declining by 0.54% to $68.00 and Brent crude dropping by 0.46% to $71.81. (As at 3:37 PM PST, Source: Investing.com).

The benchmark KSE-100 index initially opened strong reaching an intraday high of 111,759.58 with a gain of 1,789.19 pts. However, bearish sentiment soon prevailed, driving the index down to an intraday low of 107,711.40 a loss of 2,258.99 pts. The session concluded with the KSE-100 settling below the 109,000 mark at 108,896.65 reflecting a decline of 1,073.74 pts. The KMI-30 index also faced substantial pressure dropping 439.89 pts to close at 168,693.89. Similarly, the KSE All-Share index fell by 677.72 pts ending the day at 68,907.24.

Trading volumes also witnessed a notable dip with 1.54 bn shares traded compared to 1.59 bn in the previous session. Leading the activity chart were Worldcall Telecom Limited (WTL, -9.29%), Cnergyico PK Limited (CNERGY, -2.67%), and K-Electric Limited (KEL, -4.06%). The scrips had 200.87 mn shares, 150.69 mn shares and 73.03 mn shares traded respectively.

The sectoral performance highlighted the downward pull exerted by the banking sector (-714.38 pts), Fertilizer (-143.05 pts) and Automobile Assembler (-110.40 pts). Key contributors to the index’s decline included United Bank Limited (UBL, -155.55 pts), Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL, -150.31 pts) and MCB Bank Limited (MCB, -128.37 pts).

The Banking sector lost 2.35% in its cumulative market capitalization. United Bank Limited (UBL -2.66%), Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL -1.57%), MCB Bank Limited (MCB -3.47%) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL -1.99%), all closed red.

Values as at 04:15