KARACHI: With a resurgence in cut-off yields on treasury bills amid a weak economic outlook, the equity investors on Thursday opted to take profits as a result the KSE could not sustain the early gains above the pivotal 66,000-level and closed in the red.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the government increased the return on three- and 12-month T-bills by up to 60 basis points while the foreign direct investment tumbled 17.1pc to $820.6m for July-February reflecting serious challenges over external financing which contributed to bearish market sentiments.

Topline Securities Ltd said the equities initiated the day’s affairs on a positive note as the index made an intraday high of 66,196 but it could not hold on the level due to profit-taking.

It added that the increased yields in the overnight T-bills auction could be the key reason for the market reaction as it shook investors’ confidence regarding the commencement of monetary easing.

On the global landscape, the US central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee kept its benchmark rate in a range of 5.25pc to 5.5pc by maintaining the status quo in its interest rates decision while giving signal to three cuts in CY24.

Exploration & production, tech and cement sectors contributed negatively to the index as Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, Systems Ltd, OGDC, Lucky Cement and Pioneer Cement cumulatively wiped out 185 points from the index. On the flip side, the National Bank of Pakistan, Fauji Fertiliser Company and MCB Bank attracted some buying interest adding 102 points.

As a result, the KSE-100 index closed at 65,417.40 points after losing 314.39 points or 0.48 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume rose 13.98pc to 389.65 million shares. The traded value, however, dipped 4.53pc to Rs11.30bn on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (52.89m shares), Pakistan Internation Container Bulk Terminal (41.97m shares), Bank of Punjab (29.10m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (26.66m shares) and Gul Ahmed Textile (20.90m shares).

Shares registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Pakistan Engineering Company Ltd (Rs38.16), JDW Sugar Mills (Rs31.45), Bata Pakistan Ltd (Rs28.85), Premium Textile Mills Ltd (Rs24.00) and Lucky Core Industries Ltd (Rs8.64).

Companies registering the biggest decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs350.01), Khyber Textile Mills Ltd (Rs49.66), Pakistan Services Ltd (Rs35.00), Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs25.70) and Shahmurad Sugar Mills Ltd (Rs24.29).

Foreign investors turned net buyers as they picked shares worth $1.81m.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2024