KARACHI: Pessimism cast a pall over the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday as negative news stories on political and economic fronts kept investors away from the market.
Topline Securities attributed the drop in share prices to the one-notch downgrade by S&P Global for Pakistan’s long-term sovereign credit rating from B to CCC+.
In addition, a decline in the central bank’s foreign exchange reserves to the critical level of $6.12 billion along with a growing political rift following the de-notification of the Punjab chief minister by the provincial governor also played a key role in dampening the investors’ mood.
Arif Habib Ltd also held political tension responsible for share prices oscillating within a small range throughout the trading session.
As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 39,669.20 points, down 169.13 points or 0.42 per cent from the preceding session.
The overall trading volume decreased 31.8pc to 132.6 million shares. The traded value went down 15.9pc to $20.5m on a day-on-day basis.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included the Hub Power Company Ltd (8.3m shares), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (6.8m shares), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (6.1m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (5.3m shares) and Dewan Farooque Motors Ltd (5.2m shares).
Sectors that contributed negatively to the index performance were technology and communication (92.1 points), fertiliser (75.8 points), cement (64.4 points), commercial banking (34.6 points) and food and personal care products (33.8 points).
Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Pakistan Services Ltd (Rs68), Premium Textile Mills Ltd (Rs27.10), Bata Pakistan Ltd (Rs19.99), Bhanero Textile Mills Ltd (Rs18.94) and Shield Corporation Ltd (Rs15.75).
Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs511), Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs385.10), Mehmood Textile Mills Ltd (Rs61.28), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (Rs25.40) and Ellcot Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs11.04).
Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $0.54m.
