September 20, 2020 (MLN): The KSE-100 index gained merely 25 points during the departed week and closed at 42,505-mark i.e. nearly 0.06% percent lower than the closing of the previous week.
According to AKD Securities, the index remained volatile throughout the week owing to the uncertainty with regards to the upcoming AGP-FATF meeting. The week itself began on a weak note, with government and opposition parties in a deadlock over passage of bills concerning anti money laundering regulation.
Furthermore, IMF also pushed for materialization of long due utility tariff hikes, which were put on hold earlier this year due to COVID-19. Later during the week, the market breathed a sigh of relief as NA passed an amendment bill to meet certain requirements of the FATF. However, the jubilance was met by profit taking by the investors, keeping market performance flattish, AKD added.
E&Ps, Fertilizer, Chemical and Food & Personal Care emerged as the best performing sectors during the week, as they contributed 60, 36, 25, and 20 points respectively to the benchmark index. On the other hand. Insurance, Commercial Banks, Power Distribution and Textile Companies landed on other side of the spectrum as they took away 46, 37, 36, and 31 points, respectively.
Company-wise, the scrips of OGDC, FFC, POL, MTL, and EPCL were the most desirable ones as they contributed 43, 34, 31, 30, and 21 points, respectively. On the contrary, TRG, PPL, PAKT, KAPCO and HBL emerged as the top losing scrips as they snatched 27, 26, 25, 25 and 25 points from the index.
Figures released by NCCPL showed that foreign investors sold USD 1.69 million worth of stocks during the week with foreign corporates doing the bulk of selling.
On the local front, insurance companies purchased USD 10.56 million worth of stocks, followed by USD 3.5 million worth of stocks bought by Mutual Funds. Other significant transactions included USD 4.7 and USD 4.5 million worth of stocks sold by local companies and Banks/DFIs, respectively.
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