Topline Securities equity dealer Samar Iqbal said the rush to accumulate stocks was helped by delays in the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Swiss letter cases, and a rally in fertilizer and exploration companies’ scrips.
The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index rose 0.49% or 71.90 points to end at the 14,744.14 points level. Shares of 331 companies were traded on Wednesday. At the end of the day 179 stocks closed higher, 79 declined while 73 remained unchanged.
KESC was the volume leader with 18.31 million shares gaining Rs0.81 to finish at Rs4.49. It was followed by DG Khan Cement with 6.17 million shares gaining Rs0.94 to close at Rs47.26 and Maple Leaf Cement with 5.17 million shares gaining Rs0.42 to close at Rs7.28.
“Solid rumours kept pouring in from various money market sources that a cut of 50-100 basis points in the discount rate announcement on August 10 [was on the cards],” added JS Global Analyst Mujtaba Barakzai. Barakzai was of the opinion that the rate cut will favour highly leveraged companies.
“Pakistan Oilfields and Pakistan Petroleum went up 1% and 1.7%, respectively, mainly on the basis of international oil prices hitting a high of $91 per barrel, and on the news of likely announcement of the [new] petroleum policy,” he continued. “Wellhead prices are likely to go up from $4.5 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) to $6-9 per mmbtu [under the new policy].”
“Fauji Fertilizer and Engro rose 2.7% and 0.8% over news that the government will import 0.3 million tons of urea, instead of 0.6 million tons, to reduce the gas curtailment pressure,” he concluded.
Trade volumes surged to 84 million shares, compared with Tuesday’s tally of 44 million shares. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs2.66 billion.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs55.24 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 9th, 2012.
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