DAILY MARKET WRAP

Bears of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) overthrew the bulls on last trading session of the week. Indices slipped lower and lower for most part of the day while volumes dropped compared to previous session.

On the economic front, as per data published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s liquid foreign exchange reserves declined by US$ 257.30 mn WoW. Net reserves with the State Bank fell by US$219.80 mn on weekly basis. While net reserves with banks were down by US$37.50 mn.

The benchmark KSE 100 index gained 0.41% on WoW. During the day, it oscillated between intraday high of 51,269.74 (gaining 84.45 pts) and intraday low of 50,834.72 (losing 350.56 pts). The index settled lower by 241.45 pts at 50,943.84. The KMI 30 index slipped by 673.05 pts ending at 86,000.16. While the KSE All share index was down by 133.70 pts closing at 33,906.14.

Market volume decreased from 363.98 mn shares in the preceding session to 350.63 mn shares. Toppers of the volume chart were K-Electric Limited (KEL +0.31%), Worldcall Telecom Limited (WTL -5.15%) and The Bank of Punjab Limited (BOP -5.18%). The scrips had 44.89 mn shares, 21.80 mn shares and 16.99 mn shares exchanged, respectively.

Sectors painting the benchmark KSE 100 index in red included, Technology and Communication sector (-173.45 pts), Oil and Gas Exploration sector (-56.24 pts) and Oil and Gas Marketing sector (-33.26 pts). Company-wise, Systems Limited (SYS -93.96 pts), TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG -63.23 pts) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL -30.19 pts), led the index south.

The Oil and Gas Exploration sector lost 0.84% in its overall market capitalization. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC -1.21%), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL -1.77%) and Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI -0.43%), all closed in red.

NetSol Technologies Limited (NESTOL -4.57%) announced its financials for 1QFY24. Earnings rose by 41.84% YoY. Sales appreciated by 31.46% YoY, pushing the gross profit up by 89.56%. EPS improved from Rs 2.18 in SPLY to Rs 3.09.

Values as at 05:13 PM PST