Activity remained lacklustre at the Karachi bourse on Wednesday, where the index traded in a narrow band virtually closing flat as late selling in blue chips wiped out early gains.

News that the interim prime minister approved Rs20 billion disbursements to the power sector to address the energy crisis failed to create any ripples in the market.The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index remained virtually flat, climbing just 0.05% or 9.74 points to end at the 18,723.35 point level. Trade volumes improved to 152 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 128 million shares.

“The benchmark KSE-100 index traded flat in the absence of any positive or negative trigger,” reported JS Global Capital analyst Fahad Ali.“The market remained dull for the major part of the day where accumulation was seen in blue chips.”Shares of 375 companies were traded on Wednesday. At the end of the day 179 stocks closed higher, 144 declined while 52 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.44 billion.

Interest of investors was seen in third-tier stocks with Engro Polymer dominating volumes while the textile and cement sectors continue to witness buying on the back of expectations from the upcoming results season and cheap valuations for the sector.

“The index heavyweight oil sector added gains on talks of foreign institutional interest, though late selling by institutions pushed the sector to close in the red, particularly Oil and Gas Development Company and Pakistan State Oil,” said Sibtain Mustafa, analyst at Elixir Securities, in yesterday’s market review.
Expectations of stellar performance of the telecommunication sector for the January to March quarter also attracted the bulls towards the sector.

Engro Polymer was the volume leader with 12.57 million shares gaining Rs0.76 to finish at Rs12.17. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 9.6 million shares losing Rs0.09 to close at Rs19.23 and Pakistan Telecommunication Company with 8.38 million shares climbing Rs0.09 to close at Rs21.46.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs197.29 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.