KARACHI: Bearish trend prevailed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday, as the investors remained anxious ahead of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) review. Foreign investors were net buyers on Monday, with a net inflow of $0.856 million.
As per media reports, the FATF on Monday had expressed satisfaction over steps taken by Pakistan to control terror financing and money laundering. The Pakistani delegation, headed by Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar, had presented its case before the financial watchdog on the measures taken by Islamabad.
The Paris-based body is reviewing the progress made by Pakistan until April this year. The meeting, which began on October 13, will conclude on October 16. The review will determine if Pakistan stays on the grey list or moved on the blacklist or given a clean chit.
Meanwhile, a technical team of the International Monetary Fund is currently on a visit to Pakistan in order to review the measures taken by the government. Both sides will discuss ways to increase overall tax collection by Rs700 billion, particularly through income tax and sales tax.
The KSE-100 Index traded within a range on Tuesday, touching its intraday high at 34,259.23 (+72 points) and low at 33,929.19 (-257.07 points). It settled lower by 102.73 points at 34,083.53. The KMI-30 Index declined by 323.78 points to end at 54,609.55, while the KSE All Share Index was down by 44.51 points, closing at 24,624.71. Out of total traded shares, 165 advanced, 149 declined while the value of 26 remained unchanged.
The overall volumes improved slightly from the previous session and were recorded at 156.40 million. Worldcall Telecom (WTL +0.94pc), Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +3.57pc) and Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM +0.19pc) led the volume chart. The scripts had exchanged 18.28 million shares, 14.26 million shares and 8.67 million shares respectively.
Sectors that pulled the KSE-100 Index down included oil and gas exploration (-58.95 points), power generation and distribution (-45.41 points), fertiliser (-18.35 points) and oil and gas marketing sector (-11.95 points).
National Refinery Limited (NRL -1.82pc) announced an earnings per share of Rs-8.49 for the first quarter of FY20 (Rs13.33 in 1QFY19), Attock Cement (Pakistan) Limited (ACPL +0.66pc) declared an EPS of Rs2.60 for 1QFY20 (Rs3.69 in 1QFY19), while Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL +4.56pc) posted an EPS of Rs3.47 (Rs-0.61 in 1QFY19).
Moreover, Habib Bank Limited (HBL +0.44pc) declared earnings per share of Rs3.19 for the third quarter of FY19, as compared to Rs0.99 in the same period last year. The company also announced an interim cash dividend of Rs1.25.
Engro Polymer and Chemicals Limited (+0.46pc) published an EPS of Rs1.43 for 3QFY19 (up by 14.40pc) and announced an interim cash dividend of Rs0.60.
