February 09, 2024 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 index recorded its biggest daily decline in over six weeks, closing Friday's session down 1.87% or 1,200 points, to 62,943.75.

In the opening minutes of trading, the index fell as much as 3.8% or 2,362 points, before showing a recovery from the lows. The KSE-30 index retreated from a 4.4% fall, close to a level that would trigger a market halt, which would have been the first since July.

The index remained negative throughout the session showing an intraday high of 63,305.71 (-838.17) and a low of 61,781.76 (-2,362.11) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 index was 151.779 million shares.

Fund manager Ruchir Desai of Asia Frontier Capital told Bloomberg that he sees volatility and short-term negative sentiment in the market if the result is anything other than a clear PML-N win.

According to Moody’s, the incoming government will need longer-term financing to meet its very large external debt obligations in the coming years.

“Even under a new IMF program, the new government will be tested on its willingness and ability to implement and sustain reforms, particularly revenue-raising measures that may be politically unpopular but required to improve macroeconomic conditions,” said Grace Lim, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service in Singapore as reported by Bloomberg.

Abdul Kadir Hussain, head of fixed-income asset management at Arqaam Capital in Dubai said a stable political setup is required to negotiate and implement the IMF program, without which debt sustainability is doubtful.

So far indications are that the political set up will be far from stable, he added.

In today's session, of the 100 index companies 7 closed up, 77 closed down, 5 were unchanged, while 11 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was let down by Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 250.46, Commercial Banks with 233.1, Fertilizer with 157.28, Cement with 119.85, and Technology & Communication with 76.57 points.

On the flip-side, the only sectors that landed in the green zone were Paper & Board, Close – End Mutual Fund, Real Estate Investment Trust, and Modarabas, cumulatively adding 5.67 points to the index.

Companies that dragged the index lower were OGDC with 109.75, PPL with 91.28, ENGRO with 62.55, EFERT with 54.68 and HUBC with 48.85 points.

On the other hand, companies that added points to the index were PKGS with 10.39, HGFA with 2.1, MTL with 1.13, DAWH with 1.03, and GLAXO with 0.93 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 42,581.61 with a net loss of 732.40 points.

Total market volume was 258.074 million shares compared to 327.592 from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs12.53 billion showing a decrease of Rs1.79bn.

There were 132,240 trades reported in 317 companies with 54 closing up, 240 closing down and 23 remaining unchanged.

Meanwhile, the country’s Dollar bonds due in 2051 recorded the biggest drop in seven months to trade at 61.2 cents on the dollar, while the 2029 and 2031 notes also dropped.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 21,491 points or 51.84% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 493 points, equivalent to 0.79%.

Copyright Mettis Link News

Posted on: 2024-02-09T17:23:07+05:00