KARACHI: The stock market managed to attract the selling spree on Tuesday with the KSE-100 index recovering 83.94 points (0.20 per cent) to close at 42,994.96.
The last hour saw much of the recovery with the index making to intraday high by 206 points. Figures released by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan showed foreigners sitting idle, while major buying was done by individuals and insurance companies. Mutual Funds were the biggest sellers , offloading stocks worth $6.40 million.
Bullish activity was seen in cement sector which contributed 34 points to index as DG Khan Cement, Maple Leaf Cement, Kohinoor Cement, Bestway Cement and Cherat Cement all closed in the green.
Sector-wise positive contribution came from cement, increasing by 34 points, exploration and production 31 points, tobacco 26 points, commercial banks 19 points and power generation and distribution 11 points.
Investor participation remained low as institutions remained on the sidelines due to lack of major triggers. The traded volume plunged by 14pc over the previous day to 145m shares while the traded value dropped 5pc to Rs6.8 billion.
The top contributors to the index gain included MCB Bank, up 1.8pc, Habib Bank 1pc, Pakistan Tobacco Company 4.8pc, Pakistan Petroleum 1.2pc and DG Khan Cement 3.5pc, collectively adding 136 points. The downside was led by United Bank, down 1.9pc, Dawood Hercules 1.9pc, Murree Brewery 5pc, National Foods 5pc and National Bank 1.5pc cumulatively scrapping 79 points.
Earlier, the stocks witnessed volatility in early trading and gained just 6 points to reach 42917 level in early trading. The PSX continued to shed previous gains as the benchmark 100-index dropped 277 points to reach 42634 level till midday.
Yesterday, the stocks saw another day of dull session on first trading day of the week, where low participation and selling in index heavy weight sectors including banks and E&Ps led market to close down 356 points at 42,911 points.
Top 5 stocks including PPL (down 2.2%), HBL (1.3%), OGDC (1.5%), ENGRO (1.8%) & LUCK (1.7%) withheld 180 points from the index whereas top 5 stocks including PAKT (up 4.9%), TRG (5%), INIL (4.2%), DAWH (1.2%) & EFERT (0.8%), added 73 points to the index.
Volumes declined again to 167.6m shares as compared to 244.5m shares on Friday (-31% DoD). Average traded value also declined by 29% DoD to reach $64.9m as against $91.1m. Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included DSL, ANL, FFL, BAFL and TRG, reflecting 39% of total volumes.
