Market watch: In a first, index finishes over 49,000

KSE-100 rose 324.60 points on Friday to reach a new all-time high

KARACHI: Contrary to expectations of a lackluster session, Pakistan equities closed the last day of the week positive with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling at a new record high above 49,000, helped by gains in index names.

At close on Friday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a rise of 0.67% or 324.60 points to end at 49,038.23 — its highest finish yet.



Elixir Securities, in its report, stated the wider market saw a surge in trading activity, particularly after the morning session, witnessing a 32% jump in volumes versus on Thursday.

“Textiles came in the limelight on unconfirmed news of a relief package announcement scheduled for later in the day, while fertilisers carried momentum and ended higher with Fauji Fertilizer (FFC PA +2.4%) maintaining its dominance for the second consecutive day,” said analyst Ali Raza.

“Financials edged up on institutional buying and closed mostly in green with year-end earnings and pay-out excitement being the likely trigger, while oils also garnered attention from the onset of post-morning session with investors tracking intra-day hike in global crude,” said Raza.

“Pakistan Oilfileds (POL PA +1%), Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC PA +0.6%), Pakistan State Oil (PSO PA +0.9%) all recovered from their lows to close positive, while Pakistan Petroleum (PPL PA -0.2%) ended in red on profit-booking,” he added.

Market watch: Index closes at yet another record high

Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Nabeel Haroon said positivity prevailed despite the Panama case hearing.

"Textile sector led the gains on the back of rumours that government might announce the long awaited textile package. NML (+4.93%), NCL (+4.85%) and GATM (+5%) were top performers of the aforementioned sector," he commented.

"Fertiliser sector continued to garner investor interest as the sector gained to close (+1.7%) higher than its previous day close. FFC (+2.40%) and FATIMA (+4.93%) were major gainers of the aforementioned sector.

"Cement sector continued to remain under pressure despite the release of cement dispatch numbers by APCMA, which indicated a YoY increase of 3.33% for the month of Dec-16," said Haroon.

"Moving forward, we recommend investors to stay cautious at current levels as correction in the market is long overdue, however any sharp decline in the market should be taken as an opportunity to buy," he added.



Trading volumes rose to 430 million shares compared with Thursday's tally of 329 million.

Shares of 423 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 264 stocks closed higher, 140 declined while 19 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs20.6 billion.

Dost Steels Limited was the volume leader with 51 million shares, gaining Rs0.98 to finish at Rs14.26. It was followed by Aisha Steel Mill with 30.9 million shares, gaining Rs1.00 to close at Rs18.71 and Azgard Nine with 29 million shares, gaining Rs0.68 to close at Rs9.23.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs435 million during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.