KARACHI: After bleeding for most part of the day, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) managed to stand its ground and ended the session on Tuesday in the green zone.
According to market analysts, weak macroeconomic situation and ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan have been denting investor confidence at the PSX.
On the economic front, the Privatisation Commission (PC) board gave a go-ahead for the hiring of financial advisers in the privatisation of two blue-chip oil and gas exploration firms, three power generation companies, two financial institutions and two engineering companies.
Trading activity started on a negative note with the KSE-100 Index recording an intraday low of 29,952.73 after losing 567.87 points. The index then managed to recover some losses in the afternoon session, reaching an intraday high of 30,641.84 (up by 121.24 points). It finally settled higher by 64.25 points at 30,584.85. The KMI-30 Index appreciated by 238.54 points to close at 48,169.58, whereas the KSE All Share Index fell short by 4.34 points, ending at 22,527.67.
Sectors that contributed negatively to the KSE-100 Index included the banking sector (-90.56 points), oil and gas exploration sector (-64.98 points) and oil and gas marketing sector (-14.19 points).
On the other hand, the power generation and distribution sector (+67.15 points), fertilizer sector (+62.29 points) and cement sector (+58.28 points) rescued the index from closing in the negative zone.
The overall trade volumes declined from 122.08 million in the previous session to 119.77 million. Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM -0.06pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -0.47pc) and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC -2.18pc) remained the top picks of the day with 8.35 million shares, 7.08 million shares and 6.60 million shares exchanging hands respectively.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited (UPFL 0.00pc) announced its performance for the second quarter of FY19. An interim cash dividend of Rs63 was announced in addition to Rs88 already paid. The company’s sales grew by 7pc YoY, while its earnings per share improved from Rs45.40 in the same period last year to Rs62.13.
Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited (FATIMA -1.35pc) declared an EPS of Rs1.85 for 2QFY19 (2QFY18 Rs1.64), Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +2.53pc) posted an EPS of Rs2.05 for FY19 (FY18 Rs2.49) and Indus Motor Company Limited (INDU +0.56pc) registered an EPS of Rs174.49 for FY19 (FY18 Rs200.66) along with a final cash dividend of Rs27.50.
