Stocks retreat in tumultuous week – Newspaper

KARACHI: Trading on the stock market began in the outgoing week with a bloodbath that resulted in the benchmark shedding 1,250 points in a single day. This happened after a surprising dismissal of the no-confidence motion by the National Assembly’s deputy speaker — an act that led to the temporary dissolution of the National Assembly.

Moreover, the rupee depreciated to its all-time low of 188 amid sliding foreign exchange reserves and the ongoing political uncertainty, said Arif Habib Ltd.

This necessitated a massive policy rate hike of 250 basis points to 12.25 per cent. The bourse welcomed the revival of investors’ confidence after the Supreme Court’s judgment overturning the deputy speaker’s dismissal of the vote. In addition, decreasing oil prices in the global markets further added to the gains in share prices, the brokerage added.

As a result, the KSE-100 index closed at 44,445 points, down 1.56pc week-on-week.

Sector-wise, negative contributions came from cement (314 points), oil and gas exploration (89 points), power generation and distribution (80 points), engineering (65 points) and food and personal care (60 points).

According to AKD Securities, the stock market will likely remain buoyant over the next couple of trading sessions and then the reality of higher interest rates and a fluid economic situation will finally start settling in.

“Market participation during Ramazan may continue to remain limited. However, the commencement of the result season could bring investors’ interest to specific stocks. We continue to advise investors for building long-term positions and limiting short-term trading,” it added.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2022