· Market got another thrashing from investors on the back of rising inflation and political uncertainty. Institutional investors are known to face redemptions from investors, which resulted in offloading of recently bought positions, especially in Cement and Steel sectors. Expectation of an increase in inflation leading to a hike in monetary policy has recently caused havoc among investors looking for safe haven stocks. Resultantly, Power sector saw gradual accumulation particularly KAPCO & HUBC. Banking sector also saw brisk buying with limited price gains. Cement, Steel, Technology, O&GMC and E&P sectors saw major price reduction. Among scrips, GGL led the volumes with 41.2M shares, followed by UNITY (33.3M) and TRG (25.4M).

· The Index closed at 44,223pts as against 45,051pts showing a decline of 828pts (-1.8% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-192pts), Technology (-146pts), E&P (-73pts), Textile (-71pts), O&GMCs (-62pts) and Banks (+20pts).

· Volumes increased from 459.8mn shares to 492.3mn shares (+7% DoD). Average traded value declined by 5% to reach US$ 149.2mn as against US$ 157.6mn.

· Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include GGL, UNITY, TRG, WTL and PRL, which formed 28% of total volumes.

· Stocks that contributed positively to the index include UBL (+23pts), MCB (+8pts), MARI (+8pts), HBL (+8pts) and BAHL (+8pts). Stocks that contributed negatively include TRG (-93pts), SYS (-50pts), DGKC (-47pts), LUCK (-43pts) and PSO (-39pts).

Courtesy – AHL