Summary Foreign investors sold shares worth 15.5 million during the week
KARACHI (Dunya News) – The FATF’s decision to put Pakistan on their grey list kept the market buzzing, as volatility reigned supreme while on first day of the session it lost more than 600 points but recovery recorded helping the bourse to close 274 points or 0.7 percent higher, closing at 41,911 points during the outgoing week.
After touching an intra-week low of 40,901 the index saw some recovery but on cautious note.
On the other hand, the FATF’s decision caused negativity among foreign investors, who were net sellers of 12.72 million dollars. In the local market, mutual funds held the same view as foreign investors, as they turned out as net sellers of 10.62 million dollars during the week.
“The much-awaited decision by Financial Action Task Force finally unveiled with Pakistan’s name placed in FATF’s grey list for about 15-months. However, this has failed to dent sentiments at the local bourse as Pakistan’s grey listing was largely expected”, said an analyst from BMA Capital.
According to an analyst from Habib MetroFinancial Services there was renewed interest in the steel sector after the government unveiled a draft policy for steel sector development. Under the policy, green-field investments of at least 350 million dollars would receive several incentives.
This allowed the sector to close 3.45 percent higher during the outgoing week. International Steels went online with their cold rolled steel expansion, gaining 6.18 percent during the week.
The government’s decision to raise margins for petrol and high speed diesel sales by Rs 0.09/litre and Rs 0.23/litre respectively allowed oil marketing companies to close 1.84 percent higher on week on week basis. This decision affected HASCOL the most, which stands to gain the most out of this change, closing 9.3 percent higher during the outgoing week.
“The bourse is currently experiencing volatility due to high political uncertainty surrounding the upcoming general elections and the economic environment of the country”, analyst from Habib Metrofinancial said.
Foreign investors sold shares worth 15.5 million during the week. On the domestic front, Mutual Funds and Brokers offloaded shares worth 8.4 million and 8.3 million, respectively. On the other hand, Insurance Companies and Banks stood out as net buyers of 22.9 million dollars and 6.5 million dollars, respectively.
