Stock market falls by 338 points on FATF concerns

Stock market falls by 338 points on FATF concerns

KARACHI: The stock market witnessed a decline of 338 points on Monday owing start of plenary session of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which will decide about status of Pakistan.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,890 points from last Friday’s closing of 46,228 points, showing a decline of 338 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market came down on the first day of the roll-over week, contributed mostly by banking sector stocks, where the disappointment reigns due to poor dividend distribution and anticipation of similar subdued result from UBL, scheduled to be announced on Wednesday.

FATF plenary session starts today with the anticipation of status quo, which has also caused a bit of concern among investors holding on to the positions in hope of positive conclusion.

Cement, Banks, O&GMCs and Fertilizer sectors saw selling pressure, whereas Tech stocks performed well. Among scrips, HUMNL topped the volumes with 114.3 million shares, followed by BYCO (109.1 million) and TRG (46.4 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-218 points), E&P (-81 points), Cement (-44 points), Fertilizer (-23 points) and Power (-21 points).

Volumes increased from 694.8 million shares to 722.1 million shares (+4 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 4 percent to reach US$ 162.1 million as against US$ 156.4 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HUMNL, BYCO, TRG, MDTL and DCL, which formed 45 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include TRG (+105 points), GATM (+12 points), BYCO (+8 points), GHGL (+6 points) and FML (+5 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HBL (-74 points), UBL (-59 points), OGDC (-34 points), PPL (-24 points) and BAHL (-22 points).