KARACHI: The bearish trend continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday as the benchmark 100-index lost 156.75 points to drop to 48523.41 points level.
The stocks recorded the highest trading level of 48685.59 points and lowest level of 48490.39 points, with the volume of over 218.17 million shares and value of Rs10.18 billion. As many as 371 companies were active; of which 150 advanced, 196 declined and 25 remained unchanged.
BoP was the volume leader with 23.18 million shares, shedding Rs 0.91 to finish at Rs 16.70. It was followed by Azgard Nine with 19.05 million shares, gaining Rs 1.00 to end at Rs 12.74 and Aisha Steel Mill with 18.69 million shares, losing Rs 1.10 to close at Rs 25.68.
The top three gainers were Philip Morris Pak with price per share of 2473.80 (117.80), Pak Tobacco with price per share of 1396.50 (66.50) and Sanofi-Aventis share of 2170 (50.75).
The top three losers were Wyeth Pak Ltd with price per share of 2789.86 (-145.98), Colgate Palmolive with price per share of 2165 (-85) and Hinopak Motor per share of 1576.53 (-73.47).
Earlier, the PSX again started day on negative note as the benchmark 100-index shed 54 points to reach 48626 points level in early trading. The bearish trend further intensified at the stocks as it witnessed 148 points loss till midday to drop to 48533 points level.
On Monday, the stocks started the week on a negative note, as the benchmark shares index traded between an intraday high of 78 points and intraday low of 338 points, where it closed at 48,680 level, declining by 291 points or (0.60%). SEARLE, PSO and PPL contributed 64 points to the index fall, brokers said.
E&P sector lost value to close in the red zone on the back of international oil prices falling further towards $50.48/barrel, pressured by uncertainty over whether an OPEC-led production cut will be extended beyond June. POL (decline 1.86%) and PPL (1.32%) were the major laggard of the aforementioned sector. Overall, negative sentiments were witnessed in the banking sector as sector heavy weights lost value to close in the red zone. Volumes stood low at 238 million shares versus 353 million shares traded in the last session, while value decreased by 8 percent at Rs10.4 billion.
