Stocks fall as delay in IMF talks, Saudi crown prince visit weighs

• Investors concerned as world commodities rise.
• Shelving of Saudi crown prince visit dents sentiment.
• Losses led by exploration and production sector stocks.

KARACHI: Stocks Monday got off to a bad start to close the first day of the week weaker as investors weighed a reported holdup on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) front amid ongoing political uncertainties.

After remaining soaked in red ink the whole day, Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 shares index settled at 42,851 after losing 242 points or 0.56% compared to the last closing on Friday.

Topline Securities in a note said a delay in Pakistan-IMF talks, rescheduling of the Saudi crown prince’s visit and a rally in the global commodity markets where international oil prices were trading up over 3%.

During the day, exploration and production, fertiliser and technology sector stocks contributed negatively to the index.

Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Services Limited, Engro Corporation, and Pakistan Oil Fields lost 141 points, cumulatively.

On the flip side, TRG Pakistan, Lotte Chemical, and Habib Bank Limited together added 133 points.

Darson Research said stocks went downhill from the word ‘go'. 

"Earlier, as the equities started going down volatility emerged immediately, resulting in a selling spree that pulled the index below the 43,0000-point mark," the brokerage said.

Over 185 million shares traded today at the bourse while the total value clocked in at Rs6 billion. Hascol Petroleum led the volumes chart with a trade of 26.5 million shares. Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes are Hascol Petroleum, Pakistan Tobacco Company, Lotte Chemical, TRG Pakistan, and WorldCall Telecom.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in its post-market analysis said the trade commenced with a negative gap and proceeded to hit an intraday low of 42,761.88 points due to a lack of investor participation. 

"Mainboard activity remained flat as the third-tier stocks continued to be the volume leaders," the AHL report said.

Sectors that dragged the index down turned out to be exploration and production (-86.5 points), cement (-38.4 points), fertiliser (-37.2 points), commercial banks (-37 points), and miscellaneous (-31.3 points).