Stock Market at a Glance

MARKET THIS WEEK The KSE witnessed a lackluster week as volumes continued to slip (-17% in terms of shares traded but down -26% in terms of US$ value traded). The market reacted to the slumber by gradually slipping for most of week and posting a minor rebound on Friday (closing ~2% lower WoW). Key factors driving the market were foreign selling (-US$2.9mn versus net inflow of US$3.4mn last week) and news of gas supply disruptions. In terms of sectorspecific news, E and Ps dominated with the news on (1) PSO recommending securitization of OGDC's dividends to settle inter-corporate debt (ODGC rejected the proposal) and (2) problems at Qadirpur field (likely to be solved by end of current week). In addition, Engro hiked urea prices by PRs60/bag on Thursday, to offset the impact of gas supply disruptions, which supported fertilizer stocks at the end of the week.