Stocks Slipped Two Pc During The Week

Stocks Slipped Two Pc During The Week, Volatility remained at the forefront this week, driven by the spillover effects of the regional markets' sell off and mixed corporate results. The benchmark-100 index was seen near the level of 9,600 points. Local investors sought to offload holdings and their cause was supported by below expectation results of PPL. The upcoming monetary policy statement also affected the level of activity, which was concentrated in LOTPTA and FFBL (both announced their full year results in the outgoing week).

The index slipped 2 percent (164 points) Week on Week to close at 9,614 points, with average daily volumes falling by 27 percent to 167 million shares.

The week started on a dismal note with PPL posting lower than expected earnings. This raised concerns about other major corporate results such as FFBL, FFC, LOTPTA and LUCK. Though FFBL, LUCK and LOTPTA all posted above expectation earnings, they were unable to turnaround the general market sentiment.

Companies, foreigners and mutual funds emerged as net sellers during the week of US$13.6mn, US$1.3mn and US$2.5mn respectively.

In contrast, Banks and NBFCs were the net buyers of US$11.7mn and US$1.3mn. On the other hand, KSE-30 index closed the week at 10,056 points with a loss of 228 points. Market experts said renewed buying could be seen ahead of monetary policy statement.