KARACHI: The stock market eroded by 672 points on Thursday following significant selling pressure during the day.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 32,310 points as against 32,982 points, showing a decline of 672 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market stayed positive for a brief while earlier today and went +32 points, but after that selling pressure ensued causing a slide of 758 points and ending the session at -672 points.
The index breached recent intra-day low of 32,350 points today and closed at a low of 32,310 points.
Selling was observed across the board, and initially started with significant volumes in HBL. Banking sector led the volumes table with 15.7 million shares followed by Technology (11 million) and Cement (10 million).
Scrip wise activity showed TRG ranking top with 8.5 million shares, followed by KEL (7.3 million) and HBL (4.6 million).
Major declines were observed in OMCs, which saw significant declines in price, trading at and / or close to lower circuits.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-115 points), E&P (-101 points), Fertilizer (-100 points), O&GMCs (-58 points), Cement (-46 points).
Volumes declined further from 112 million shares to 86 million shares (-22 percent DoD). Average traded value however, increased by 0.9 percent DoD to reach US 23.4 million as against US$ 23.2 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TRG, KEL, HBL, LOTCHEM and MLCF, which formed 33 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively include MARI (+1 points), POL (+0 points), SHFA (+0 points), HGFA (+0 points) and ATLH (+0 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include ENGRO (-71 points), PPL (-64 points), HBL (-52 points), OGDC (-38 points) and HUBC (-24 points).
