KARACHI: The Pakistan bourse witnessed a range bound secession on Friday as T-bill cut off yields were recorded on the higher side indicating another hike in the policy rate.
An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened in the green zone but failed to sustain the positive trend as profit selling was witnessed in the main board. The session remained dull although 3rd tier stocks continued their positive momentum.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index shed 0.22 per cent, or 99.60 points, to close at 45,553.02 points. The KSE-30 shares Index shed 0.11 per cent, or 19.37 points, to close at 17,589.31 points.
The ready market volumes stood at 217.56 million shares compared with the turnover of 234.99 million shares in the last trading session.
An analyst at the Pearl Securities said that the market sentiment was dampened as the market saw a major correction during the week and took direction due to political instability, rupee volatility, and the speculations regarding the revival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to shore up forex reserves.
“T-bill cut off yields were recorded on the higher side of 13.85 per cent indicating another hike in the policy rate,” he added.
“Going forward, we expect the market to remain under pressure. Hence, we suggest our investors adopt the “Buy on Dip” strategy in the upcoming week.”
The companies which reflected the highest gains included Rafhan Maize(XD) up Rs350 to close at Rs11,800/share, and Nestle Pakistan up Rs117.13 to close at Rs5,618.13/share.
The companies that reflected the most losses included Pak Services down Rs125.25 to close at Rs1,544.75/share, and Colgate Palm down Rs110 to close at Rs2,225/share.
The highest volumes were witnessed in Cnergyico PK with a turnover of 23.64 million shares. The scrip gained 16 paisas to close at Rs6.66/share, followed by Hum Network with a turnover of 23.60 million shares. It gained 38 paisas to close at Rs8.21/share. Lotte Chemical remained the third with a turnover of 19.59 million shares. It shed 77 paisas to finish at Rs19.01/share.