·        Market lost further ground today by shedding 451pts during the session and closing -387pts (unadjusted). Discussions with IMF are still ongoing with the hope of near term resolution and resumption of IMF program. Besides IMF program worries, continued pressure on PKR parity with USD has also caused concern amongst investors, especially foreigners who have lately started selling PK equities. Among technology stocks, Octopus hit upper circuit, whereas other tech stocks remained under pressure, especially TRG which saw selling pressure despite anticipation of high earnings. Among scrips, TELE topped the volumes with 30.3M shares, followed by ANL (19.5M) and GGL (18.5M).

·        The Index closed at 44,667pts as against 45,044pts showing a decline of 378pts (-0.8% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-170pts), Technology (-99pts), Fertilizer (-45pts), Banks (-23pts) and O&GMCs (-17pts).

·        Volumes increased from 267.2mn shares to 334.7mn shares (+25% DoD). Average traded value also increased by 34% to reach US$ 79.3mn as against US$ 59.1mn.

·        Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TELE, ANL, GGL, WTL and BYCO, which formed 30% of total volumes.

·        Stocks that contributed positively to the index include MARI (+74pts), UBL (+19pts), HUBC (+18pts), PSEL (+13pts) and EPCL (+11pts). Stocks that contributed negatively include LUCK (-66pts), TRG (-65pts), OGDC (-34pts), SYS (-27pts) and MLCF (-24pts).