KARACHI - After gaining 820 points in previous 4 sessions, some profit taking was seen at the bourse on Wednesday.
At local equity market, the benchmark KSE 100-share index shed 143.09 points or 0.58 percent to end the day at 24445.38 points as compared to 24588.47 points of the previous day.
Equity dealer at Topline Securities said despite slightly negative news flow, market participation remained on the higher side with 16% jump in the volumes to Rs12m. Positivity was seen in the telecom sector as 3G consultant (Value Partner Management Company Limited) is expected to formally sign the deal with the PTA in coming few days. Conversely, textiles saw pressures due to few EU countries lobbying against GSP Plus status to Pakistan while and refineries were down on the back of news surrounding deemed duty withdrawal. PTC remained the volume leader with 27.5m shares traded followed by ENGRO with volume of 15.1m shares while LOTCHEM saw 8mn shares exchanging hands. KSE allshare-index shed 106.24 points or 0.58 percent to conclude the session at 18134.38 points, KSE 30-share index lost 102.31 points or 0.55 percent to end the day at 18383.98 points while KMI 30-share index reduced by 83.10 points or 0.20 percent to stop the session at 41005.07 points.
Market traded 200 million shares on Wednesday after opening at 185.218 million shares and the value of traded shares climbed to Rs 12.012 billion from Rs 10.361 billion and the capitalization of the market maintained at Rs 5.914 trillion as compared to Rs 5.949 trillion of a day earlier. Stocks closed lower on institutional profit taking in overbought market amid concerns for security unrest in the city, an analyst observed.
Rising circular debt in energy sector, falling foreign exchange reserves, concerns for political protests to end drone strikes and fall in global stocks played a catalyst role in bearish sentiments despite support in selected SOEs in telecom, oil and gas sectors awaiting key announcements on privatization and 3G licence auctions, he added.
Trading took place in 363 companies where losers outnumbered the gainers by 188 to 147 while the values of 28 stocks remained intact. Unilever FoodsXD was the to price gainer, up by Rs 223.80 to Rs 11400, followed by Bata (Pak), higher by Rs 118.21 to Rs 2482.55. Downhill trend was led by Nestle Pak and Wyeth Pak Limited, decreased by Rs 453.75 to Rs 8696.25 and Rs 247.40 to Rs 4700.