Market Watch: KSE rises with all eyes on budget

Benchmark KSE-100 index adds 58 points.


Our Correspondent June 11, 2013
Benchmark KSE-100 index adds 58 points.

KARACHI: The stock market on Tuesday rebounded led by the banking sector with the index closing above 22,000 points ahead of the budget announcement today (Wednesday).

The newly-elected Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government will announce its first budget and set the tone for both the capital market and the broader economy. All have high expectations from this government, especially about the policies that it will lay out for economic repair, stability and prosperity with key focus on energy and taxation.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index gained 0.26% or 58.33 points to end at 22,209.07 points. Trade volumes fell marginally to 268 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 277 million shares. The value of shares traded was Rs7.16 billion.



“The index confirmed its previous bearish formation as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the budget announcement,” reported Wasi Khan, analyst at JS Global Capital.

Overall, activity was recorded at weak levels in small- and mid-tier stocks with Pakistan International Airlines, Bank of Punjab and Maple Leaf being volume leaders.

In the banking sector that led the rally, United Bank was the first to hit its upper circuit on reported institutional and foreign buying, which fuelled the rally throughout the sector with sizeable volumes, said Muhammad Rawjani, analyst at Elixir Securities.

Moreover, news of a 50% increase in development expenditure in the upcoming budget brought cement stocks back into the limelight.

Bank of Punjab (rights issue) was the volume leader with 68.77 million shares, falling Rs0.92 to finish at Rs3.25. It was followed by Pakistan International Airlines with 21.11 million shares, gaining Re1 to close at Rs10.61 and Bank of Punjab with 13.03 million shares, losing Rs0.26 to close at Rs13.81.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs41.1 million worth of shares.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2013.

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