KARACHI
Terrorist incident in Karachi on Tuesday, which left the leader of a major political party (MQM) critically injured, shook investors’ confidence, as a result, KSE-100 index went down by 42 points or 0.12pc to close at 35,546 index level.
Engro announced its 2Q 2015 results, which was in line with street consensus. This led the stock to close at up 0.25pc.
Cement stocks rallied on the back of a possible increase in cement dispatches in the Northern part of the country. As a result, MLCF, FCCL and DGKC increased by 0.3-3.5pc.
Positivity in the first half was led by the auto and the pharmaceutical sectors, with major gainers being SEARL up 3.1pc, ABOT rose 0.9pc and INDU appreciated 0.5pc respectively. Bullish momentum was witnessed in the cement sector as international coal prices dropped to a 7-year low.
Major gainers in the sector were MLCF up 3.3pc and PIOC 1.6pc. Engro Corp up 0.4pc announced a cash dividend of Rs4/share, stated analyst Ahmed Saeed Khan. Traded volume was down by 20pc to 277m shares, while value increased by 14pc Rs.12.7.1b/ $124m.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti said market closed lower on mid session panic selling amid security unrest in the city after a major political leader shot.
WTI crude slump below $42/barrel, major fall in Asian stocks and political uncertainty played a catalyst role in bearish activity at KSE ignoring record earnings growth announced by Engro Corp.