KARACHI: Inflationary pressures arising from higher fuel prices kept trading on the stock exchange under pressure on Thursday, according to Arif Habib Ltd.

The cement sector stayed in the limelight as Cherat Cement Company Ltd and Kohat Cement Company Ltd announced financial results that were in line with market expectations.

Activity on the main board was dull as across-the-board selling took place in the last trading hour.

As a result, the KSE-100 index lost 243.7 points or 0.53 per cent on a day-on-day basis to close at 45,441.10 points.

The trading volume incre­ased 5.2pc to 152.9 million shares while the traded value went up 15.5pc to $27.2m on a day-on-day basis.

Sectors that took away the highest number of points from the benchmark index included fertiliser (56.04 points), power generation and distribution (41.97 points), investment banking (36.54 points), food and personal care (22.52 points) and commercial banking (21.95 points).

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (16.15m shares), Hum Network Ltd (14.43m shares), TeleCard Ltd (10.46m shares), K-Electric Ltd (8.85m shares) and Unity Foods Ltd (6.21m shares).

Shares contributing positively to the index included Engro Fertilisers Ltd (15.19 points), Millat Tractors Ltd (9.22 points), Habib Bank Ltd (8.74 points), Bank Alfalah Ltd (8.62 points) and Fauji Fertiliser Company Ltd (8.17 points).

Stocks that took away the maximum number of points from the index included Engro Corporation Ltd (82.28 points), The Hub Power Company Ltd (30.04 points), Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd (29.73 points), Unity Foods Ltd (16.72 points) and Allied Bank Ltd (16.45 points).

Stocks recording the biggest declines in percentage terms on a day-on-day basis were Unity Foods Ltd (4.82pc), Allied Bank Ltd (4.38pc), Engro Corporation Ltd (3.74pc), Dawood Herc­ules Corporation Ltd (3.52pc) and K-Electric Ltd (3.34pc).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $0.33m.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2022