Karachi, June 18, 2021 (PPI-OT): View from the desk

Trading started on a bearish note as the benchmark KSE-100 index sank to an intraday low of -135 points. However, by mid-day, bulls had managed to pull back the index to an intraday high of +254 points and the bourse eventually closed on a positive note at 48,238 level (+81 points). The drop in investor participation is evidenced by the 33% decline in traded volumes to 751mn shares. Major contribution for the day came in from HUMNL (7.0%), WTL (2.7%), BYCO (4.0%), UNITY (-2.1%) and SILK (1.7%).

Cement sector managed slight gains today where FLYNG (0.5%), POWER (0.2%), MLCF (1.2%) and DGKC (1.3%) closed in green zone. Refineries seemed to find a way out of their corrective phase as BYCO (4.0%), PRL (3.0%), ATRL (4.8%) and NRL (6.4%) gained for the day. Going forward, we expect volatility in the market due to roll-over week and recommend investors to avail any downside as an opportunity to buy in construction and export oriented sectors.