STOCK MARKET UPDATE: 27.03.2013

STOCKS

Karachi Stocks Down 81.39 Points:
KARACHI, Mar 26: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 17880.52, down 81.39 points. 

 (Today Market is 77.24 Up@ 10.27 am)

March 26, 2013

 5 TOP GAINERS  &  LOOSERS:

Unilever Pak	Rs 190.00	Bata Pak	Rs (66.00)
Sanofi Aventis	Rs 16.00	Fazal Textile	Rs (12.13)
Philip Morris	Rs 14.46	Gatron Inds	Rs (9.50)
Mithchells Fruit	Rs 11.50	Clariant Pak	Rs (7.36)
Service Industries	Rs 4.85	Indus Dyeing	Rs (7.01)

KSE 100-index sheds 90 points

KARACHI, March 26: Share prices dropped on the stock market on Tuesday where the KSE-100 index plunged 89.76 points or 0.50 per cent to 17,872.15 points.
Dealers said that the declining volumes showed investors’ disinterest towards equity trading in the current murky political situation. The market was looking for triggers. Fearing a further fall, short term investors resorted to profit-taking in stocks which had outperformed the market in the recent weeks.
The oil and gas and fertliser sectors took the brunt of the blow with all major scrips showing a considerable decline. The heavy-weight OGDC fell by Rs3.36, which alone contributed more than 60 points to the day’s index decline.
Mutual funds offloaded equities worth $2.80 million, though banks bought $1.55 million worth equity. Individuals generally remained sidelined. The foreign portfolio inflow on Tuesday was recorded at $0.28 million. Banks suffered further
pruning.
With elusive capital gains, investors turned to high dividend yielding stocks, such as Hub Power and Fauji Fertiliser, an equity dealer said.
Analyst Mujtaba Barakzai at JS Global stated that the KSE-100 index closed down 0.5 per cent on Tuesday, from an intra day high of 0.1 per cent, after profit taking was witnessed.
Appointment of the Punjab caretaker chief minister and selection of care taker finance minister were major issues of discussion among investors at the market.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp commented that bearish activity was witnessed at KSE amid worries over the economic uncertainty in the interim government setup. Consolidation continued in blue chip stocks ahead of quarter end close.
Activity was led by second and third tier stocks amid concerns for security situation in the city, rising circular debt issues in energy sector and limited foreign interest ahead of IMF repayment due this week despite recovery in global stocks and commodities.
The market capitalisation based KSE-30 index lost 82 points to 14,165.31 points. Volume of business was recorded at 150 million shares, down from 154 million shares traded the earlier day.
Trading value plunged by 21 per cent to Rs3.829 billion on Tuesday, from a day ago trading value at Rs4.847 billion. Market capitalisation stood reduced by Rs25 billion to Rs4.361 trillion, from Rs4.386tr.
The biggest gainers for the day were UniLever Pak up by Rs190 to Rs11,100 and Sanofi-Aventis higher by Rs16 to Rs377. Steep fall of Rs66 to Rs1,259 was seen in Bata (Pak) followed by drop of Rs12.13 in Fazal Textile which closed at Rs230.61.
Other big gainers were Philip Morris, Mitchell’s Fruit Farms and Service Industries, while noticeable stocks on the loss side were Gatron Industries, Clariant Pak and Indus Dyeing.
A total of 314 stocks came up for trading on Tuesday, of which 116 were plus signs; 179 minus and 19 unchanged.
On the 10-top active scrips’ list, PIA came in for brisk trading with 39m shares, up by 58 paisa to Rs7.40. TRG Pakistan was down 21 paisa to Rs7.60 on 12m shares, Fauji Cement slipped 11 paisa to Rs8.42 on 11m shares and Lotte PakPTA added 31 paisa to Rs7.61 on 8m shares.
Maple Leaf Cement slid 34 paisa to Rs17.20 on 8m shares, Engro Corporation lost 85 paisa to Rs130.03 on 5m shares, D.G. Khan Cement conceded 83 paisa to Rs69.06 on 4m shares, Dewan Motors was up by 14 paisa to Rs3.77 on 4m shares, Nishat Mills was down by 22 paisa to Rs83.47 on 3m shares and Dewan Cement gained 13 paisa to Rs5.27 on 3m shares.
Karachi Stock Exchange cuts a sorry figure: KARACHI: Pakistan’s apex bourse, Karachi Stock Exchange, (KSE) went down by 0.50 percent Tuesday, Geo News reported.
Benchmark KSE-100 Index settled down at 17,872.15 mark after losing 89.76 points.
The index heavyweight Oil & Gas Development Company Ltd shed 1.55 percent to close at Rs200.99, whereas banking giant, Muslim Commercial Bank Ltd, lost 0.67 percent to reach Rs190.47.

Company News:

Bank Al Habib declares dividend: KARACHI, March 26: The Annual General Meeting of Bank Al Habib was held in Multan on Tuesday where shareholders approved the annual accounts for the year ended December 31, 2012. Payment of 30 per cent cash dividend (final) was also approved.
Deposits of the bank, as on December 31, 2012, stood at Rs340.393 billion, while profit after tax was Rs5.447bn.

MOHAMMED SALEEM MANSOORI