KARACHI - Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday witnessed bloodbath activity as index plummeted massive 611.48 points or (down 1.24pc) to close at 48,689.42 points. This pressure in the market was on the back of investor scepticism regarding the political scenario in the country, brokers said.
Banking sector led the decline as the sector lost to close (0.7pc) lower than previous trading session. MCB (slip 1.90pc), UBL (1.01pc) and ABL (1.70pc) in the aforementioned sector lost value to weigh down on the index.
On the other hand, CPI numbers clocked in at 4.78 percent for the month of April 2017 versus 4.94 percent recorded in last month. In E&P sector, OGDC (slump 1.06pc) and POL (1.06pc) lost value to close in the red zone, as crude oil prices slid to consolidate around $51.91/bbl level. Fertiliser sector closed in the red zone on the back of news that the ECC approved reduction in imported urea prices to Rs1,000 per 50kg bag. EFERT (decline 1.60pc), FFC (1.48pc) and FFBL (1.49pc) were the major laggards of the aforementioned sector.
AICL (down 0.73pc) failed to garner investor interest in the bearish market, in spite of posting a robust growth in its underwriting result during 1Q2017. The insurance company declared EPS of Rs1.95, observed analyst Arhum Ghous.
Stocks closed sharply lower on profit-taking in the post major earnings announcements for the quarter on investor concerns over civil military row on news leaks inquiry report, stated analyst Ahsan Mehanti. Support witnessed in banking stocks on strong earnings outlook. IMF warnings over debt service burden, rising import bill and falling global crude prices played a catalyst role in major fall at PSX.
Volumes in the market further skimmed to around 199 million shares versus 290 million shares traded previously, while value also declined to Rs10.7 billion/$102 million.
