Pakistan equities closed further negative on Tuesday as the benchmark KSE-100 Index shed another 319 points, closing at 38,036 levels, down by 0.8 percent from the previous day’s close.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for March-2019 settled at 9.41 percent year-on-year (YoY), depicting a surge of 120bps from the preceding month on back of surge in the prices of perishable food items.
The local bourse made a low of -423 points during the day, before making a minor recovery. The market remained lackluster as the selloff pressure kept the bourse unsettled, mainly in the Financials where Habib Bank Limited (HBL) (-2.6%), MCB Bank (-0.9%) and United Bank Limited (UBL) (-0.8%) were the major laggards.
The market also witnessed pressure due to news reports that the Government is planning to introduce flexible exchange under a potential International Monetary fund (IMF) program.
Among Exploration and Productions (E&Ps), Oil Gas Development Company (OGDC) (-0.5%) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) (-0.6%) closed in the red whereas mixed sentiment was seen in the Cements where LUCK (+0.2%) closed positive but DG Khan Cement (-0.8%) and Fauji Cement Company limited (FCCL) (-2.1%) closed in the red.
PPL (-0.6%), OGDC (-0.5%), HBL (-2.6%), ENGRO (-0.6%), MCB (-0.9%), FFC (+0.5%), HUBC (-1.5%), UBL (-0.8%) and Bank Alflah Limited (BAHL) (-0.1%) cumulatively contributed -110 points to the index.
Traded value stood at US$28 million, up 39 percent and volume stood at 145 million shares, up 120 percent. Furthermore, major contribution to total market volume came from UNITYR1 (+36.8%), KEL (-3.0%), UNITY (+5.2%), MLCF (-0.8%), HUBC (-1.5%).
An equity analyst Danish Ladhani expects market to remain range bound in the short term. He recommends investors to stay cautious in the short run ahead of MSCI rebalancing and IMF updates.