DAILY MARKET WRAP

Bears of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) asserted their dominance on Tuesday. Indices slipped lower and lower all day long while volumes surged from previous close. Analysts attributed the negative trend to the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan by law enforcement agencies. Equity markets around the globe showed mixed trend. Crude oil prices moved south with WTI crude oil price falling by 1.05% to $72.39. While Brent crude oil was down by 0.99% to $76.25. (As at 4:56 PM PST, Source: Investing.com).

On the economic front, as per data published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Pakistani Rupee lost PKR 0.9901/USD (0.35%) against the US Dollar on DoD basis ending the session at PKR 284.8441/US$.

Losing 551.76 pts, the benchmark KSE 100 index recorded intraday low 41,277.73. The index settled lower by 455.68 pts at 41,373.81. The KMI 30 index slid by 1,063.87 pts closing at 70,892.46. While the KSE All share index plunged by 252.25 pts settling at 27,353.87.

Overall market volumes appreciated from 179.02 mn shares in the previous session to 203.00 mn shares. Companies showing highest participation were Worldcall Telecom Limited (WTL -3.33%), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP +0.05%) and K-Electric (KEL -2.53%). The scrips had 31.00 mn shares, 10.61 mn shares and 8.27 mn shares traded, respectively.

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE 100 towards negative zone included, Banking sector (109.45 pts), Oil and Gas Exploration sector (78.30 pts) and Fertilizer sector (56.31 pts). Companies that dragged the index lower included, Habib Bank Limited (HBL 59.94 pts), Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH 35.26 pts) and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC 33.11 pts).

The Refinery sector lost 1.85% in its cumulative market capitalization. Cynergyico PK Limited (CNERGY 2.87%), Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL 1.02%), National Refinery Limited (NRL 1.95%) and Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL 2.05%), all closed negative.

Values as at 04:58 PM PST