· Bearish momentum was witnessed today as aggressive tightening of 100bps expected in the upcoming preponed MPS announcement. With mounting inflationary expectations and rising secondary market yields, across the board sell-off was observed just after the opening bell of the market mainly led by the cement, steel and technology stocks. Accumulation was witnessed in the banking stocks as investors opted for cautious approach. In the last trading hour, value hunting was seen by the institutional buyers.

· The Index closed at 46,194pts, down 348.5pts, (-0.75% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include Cements (-135.74pts), Technology & Comm. (-84.04pts), E&Ps (-34.05pts) and OMCs (-31.42pts).

· Volumes decreased from 243.19mn shares to 238.49mn shares (-1.9% DoD). Traded value also decreased by -2.9%% to reach US$ 58.3mn as against US$ 60.0mn.

· Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include SERF, TRG, GGL, TPLP and MERITR2.

Courtesy – AHL