KSE opens New Year on a negative note, index sheds 112 pts

The Karachi stock market remained on a negative note on the first day of the New Year Thursday, as investor’s were cautious in the wake of continuation of selling activities by the distressed brokers and institutions, analysts said.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) 100-share index lost 111.83 points to close at 5,753.18 points as compared to 5,865.01 points traded in the previous session. The KSE 30 index shed 143.36 points and closed at 5,341.97 points as against 5,485.97 points of the previous session. The KMI 30 index also declined by 41.88 points to close at 6,661.58 points as compared with 6,703.46 points of the previous session.

The market turnover went up by 4.13 percent and traded 75.43 million shares as compared to previous session’s 78.68 million shares. The overall market capitalisation decreased by 1.66 percent to close at Rs 1.827 trillion as compared with Rs 1.858 trillion traded in the previous session. Out of 230 active companies, 106 closed in positive zone, 114 in negative while 10 remained unchanged.

Analysts said activity remained high on expectations that State Enterprise Fund of Rs 20 billion would bailout the market from the current lows in the days to come, while liquidity crunch and CFS non-availability remained major concerns for investors.

The negative economic and political developments that have occurred in 2008 have had a major impact on the market and it would take a lot of funding for the market to come back on track, analysts believed.

The KSE 100 index opened in the red zone with a loss of 78.03 points and at the end of the day closed at 5,753.18 with a loss of 111.83 points.

WorldCall was the volume leader in the share market with 6.71 million shares as it closed at Rs 3.10 and closed at Rs 2.97 making a financial gain of 13 paisas. Fauji Fertiliser traded 6.35 million shares as it closed at Rs 12.69 after opening at Rs 12.90 shedding 21 paisas. TRG Pakistan traded 4.93 million shares as it closed at Rs 2.05 after opening at Rs 1.78 shedding 27 paisas.