KARACHI: The outgoing week started on the stock exchange on a positive note as investors anticipated that the policy rate would remain unchanged at 15 percent.
The international agency Moody’s lowered the ratings of five commercial banks while keeping a negative outlook, according to Arif Habib Ltd, and the trend quickly became negative.
In September, remittances also experienced a 12% year-over-year fall. The rupee lost its recent winning run after strengthening against the dollar over the previous two weeks. Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell by $303 million, falling to a three-year low of $7.6 billion. Additionally, sales of automobiles fell by 51% year over year, reaching a 27-month low.
In the meanwhile, a decline in government bond rates following the release of the monetary policy statement and the anticipation of assistance from international financial institutions for flood relief softened the overall decline. The index dropped 137 points or 0.3 percent week over week to conclude at 41,949 points.
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Technology and communication (117 points), commercial banking (48 points), tobacco (32 points), cement (15 points), and engineering were the sectors that made the least positive contributions (12 points). Conversely, the sectors of exploration and production (46 points) and refinery made good contributions (22 points).
TRG Pakistan Ltd. (207 points), Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd. (32 points), Meezan Bank Ltd. (24 points), Engro Fertilizers Ltd. (19 points), and Engro Corporation were the negative contributors in terms of scrip (18 points).
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Systems Ltd (83 points), Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (20 points), Lotte Chemical Pakistan Ltd (17 points), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (16 points), and Nestle Pakistan Ltd all made significant contributions (15 points).
Foreign purchases totaled $12.3 million in the previous week compared to a net purchase of $4.7 million the week before. Major purchases were technology ($12.4 million), power ($0.8 million), and cement ($0.3 million). Selling was reported locally by corporations ($4m) and broker proprietary trading ($4.8m).
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The average daily volume clocked in at 267m shares, down 39pc week-on-week. The average daily value traded settled at $44m, down 7pc from a week ago.
According to AKD Securities, the Financial Action Task Force is likely to announce its final decision regarding Pakistan in the coming week and its outcome is likely to dictate short-term sentiments.
“We advise investors to remain cautious as the near-term outlook remains hazy,” it said.
