ZUBAIR YAQOOB
KARACHI Market saw a drop of 460pts early in the session, which was largely a factor of the crash in oil prices overnight. WTI closing 7.5% down from its opening the other day. Resultantly, Oil & gas chain saw selling pressure / profit booking but close of session saw pertinent scrip prices inching up, though still closed red. Cement sector continued displaying strength on Relief construction package, on the back of which, DGKC and LUCK remained prominent, although by end of session, MLCF also saw buying activity. Among banking sector stocks, HBL maintained its levels for the past couple of sessions, whereas UBL showed price gains. Prospects of opening the lockdown by the Provincial governments has so far played in the interest of Cement sector largely. Cement sector maintained the leadership in trading volumes with 33.3M shares, followed by O&GMCs (17.1M) and Power (12.4M). Among scrips, UNITY topped the chart with 28.7M shares, followed by HASCOL (25.8M) and PAEL (14.1M). The Index closed at 32,033pts as against 31.837pts showing an increase of 196pts (+0.6% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-103pts), Banks (+105pts), Fertilizer (+51pts), Technology (+24pts), Cement (+22pts) and Pharma (+20pts). Volumes declined from 216.5M shares to 127.1M shares (41% DoD). Average traded value also declined by 41% to reach US$ 30mn as against US$ 51mn. Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, KEL, MLCF, DGKC and PAEL, which formed 36% of total volumes. Stocks that contributed positively to the index include BAFL (+34pts), ENGRO (33pts), MCB (+19pts), SNGP (+19pts) and FFC (+18pts). Stocks that contributed negatively include OGDC (-37pts), PPL (-34pts), MARI (-17pts), POL (-15pts), and PAKT (- 12pts)
