KARACHI: Selling pressures continued to dominate at Karachi stock exchange in the first week of the new fiscal year, extending the bear-run almost another 400 points.Bears ruled the equities market this week pushing KSEs benchmark 100-index below the psychological level of 12,000 to end at 11,962, down 370 points on week on week basis.

Investors remained completely sidelined in a week that saw average volumes hit an 11 year low of 17.7mn shares.Anticipation of further monetary tightening and hence reduced corporate profits triggered selling pressure with major selling in the banking sector which fell by 4%.Net foreign selling of 5.8 million dollars was witnessed in the first 4 days of the week.

Volumes plunged after Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the KSE board last week introduced damage control measures to stabilise a market that had struck its lowest level in more than 15 months on June 23.The authorities changed the daily limits in share price movements so they could rise up to 10 percent a day, but fall only 1 percent. However, SECP’s regulation amendments have not been able to improve market sentiments. The measures provided only temporary relief, and artificially propped up the market, but were unable to restore confidence, wrecked by fundamental uncertainties.

Analysts emphasise that so long as political and economic uncertainty prevails, these stability measures would only be delaying the inevitable fall of share prices. KSEs benchmark 100-index has fallen 15 percent since the beginning of the year and is 24 percent lower since it set a unprecedented high on April 21. geo tv

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