KARACHI: The stock market remained jittery in the outgoing week while showing a mixed trend.
It commenced on a negative note amid concerns over the devastation wrought by the floods and its economic consequences, said Arif Habib Ltd.
However, the market soon recovered following the approval and subsequent disbursement of a $1.17 billion tranche by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This led to the rupee gaining strength against the greenback and closing the week at 218.98, up 0.8 per cent from the preceding week.
The bullish trend proved short-lived as the announcement of inflation figures for August clocked in at a 47-year high. In addition, trade numbers released during the week also dampened the overall sentiment because the gap between import and exports jumped 29pc on a month-on-month basis in August.
As a result, the benchmark index closed at 42,309 points after shedding 282 points or 0.7pc from a week ago.
Sector-wise negative contributions came from banking (118 points), exploration and production (90 points), automobile assembling (61 points), miscellaneous (40 points) and textile composite (31 points).
Sectors that contributed positively were cement (110 points) and leather and tanneries (25 points).
Scrip-wise, negative contributors were Habib Bank Ltd (73 points), TRG Pakistan Ltd (47 points), Pakistan Services Ltd (41 points), Engro Corporation (39 points) and Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (36 points).
Meanwhile, scrip-wise positive contribution came from Systems Ltd (76 points), Engro Fertilisers Ltd (48 points), Kohat Cement Company Ltd (32 points), Faysal Bank Ltd (31 points) and Service Industries Ltd (25 points).
Foreigners selling continued in the outgoing week and clocked in at $0.74 million versus to a net sale of $1.87m in the preceding week. Major selling was witnessed in commercial banks ($1.8m) and power ($0.8m). On the local front, buying was reported by banks ($3m) and individuals ($2.4m).
The average daily trading volume clocked in at 211m shares, down 15pc from a week ago. The average daily value traded settled at $31m, down 15pc from the preceding week.
According to AKD Securities, impending near-term inflation is expected to wreak havoc, especially on the food/energy front, leading to overall shaky sentiments. “Until foreign exchange reserves come to a more secure position (import cover currently stands at 1.1 times), the domestic currency is expected to remain volatile, subsequently keeping investor confidence muted,” it said.
