Opening Bell: Index dips for the fourth consecutive session

September 10, 2018 (MLN): Selling spree continues unabated on PSX as Pakistan’s stock market runs losses for the fourth consecutive session during initial hours of the trading session today.

Benchmark index, KSE 100 has lost over 400 points so far, over one percent of its value, this being the ninth session out of the last ten where the stock market has been in the red.

KSE 100 is trading at 40,418 points at the time of writing this article.

Losses in the scrips of Commercial Banks seem to be weighing the most on the index so far, as the sector has taken over 100 points from the index so far, followed by losses in the scrips of Oil and Gas Exploration Companies, Fertilizer companies and the Cement Sector.

Among the index heavy weights, PPL (-1.47%), HBL (-1.25%), ENGRO (-1.4%), BAFL (-2.9%) and LUCK (-1.37%) are driving the losses on the index so far.

A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) is underway at the moment, with expectations circulating that members of the committee are likely to mull over a hike in gas tariffs during the meeting today. After the go-ahead by the Prime Minister on raising the tariffs, a final decision regarding the matter is expected from the ECC meeting today. The committee is also likely to decide on the local output of fertilizer and its import quantities.

With respect to volume, a total of 20 million shares have been traded in the market for the KSE 100 companies so far at a value worth Rs 928 million, with merely 11 companies’ stock prices on the rise as of now. 62 companies, on the other hand, are in the negative zone with the stock prices of 3 companies not changed from their last closing, and 24 KSE 100 companies not traded at all.

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