Market watch: Oil leads the way as index closes at 34,447

Benchmark KSE 100-share index rises 486.18 points

KARACHI: Pakistan equities rode on the back of bullish sentiment as the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE)-100 Index closed the week closer to the 34,500 level.

The oil sector was to be credited for the positive ride that helped the index close the week flat after the disastrous start on Monday when the benchmark fell over 1,400 points.



At close on Friday, the benchmark 100-share index recorded a rise of 1.43% or 486.18 points to end at 34,447.47.

Elixir Securities analyst Faisal Bilwani said index-heavy exploration and production companies were strong form the word go as higher crude pushed Pakistan Petroleum (PPL PA +5%), Pakistan Oilfields (POL PA +5%) and Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC +4.7%) to hit upper price limit in early trade and also ending near limit despite reports of foreign selling.

“Mood in the wider market was upbeat and the turnover high as excitement over macros ahead of inflation reading, the recent ADB package and the news flow over progress on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) helped investors ignore domestic politics and concerns of foreign selling.

“We see gains to consolidate near current levels and range-bound trading in days ahead while institutional buying in index names should help absorb foreign selling,” Bilwani added.

Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Arhum Ghous said the oil sector led the rally due to the biggest recovery in international oil price since 2009 as POL, PSO, OGDC and PPL up by 5%, 3%, 4.7% and 5%, respectively.

“Cement sector remained strong on the back of improved gross margins due to low coal price as Maple Leaf Cement Factory (MLCF), Pioneer Cement Limited (PIOC) and Dera Ghazi Khan Cement (DGKC) went up by 4.8%, 4.9% and 4.7%, respectively.

“Fertiliser sector remained in the green zone after news of fertiliser consumption up 18% YoY in first three months of current summer crop season, while mixed sentiment was recorded in the banking sector,” noted Ghous.



Trade volumes rose to 282 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 223 million shares.

Shares of 393 companies were traded on Friday. At the end of the day, 265 stocks closed higher, 112 declined and 16 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs15 billion.

Dewan Cement was the volume leader with 29.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.87 to finish at Rs16.22. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 20.9 million shares, gaining Rs4.16 to close at Rs90.77 and The Bank of Punjab with 18.6 million shares, losing Rs0.23 to close at Rs9.27.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs354 million worth of shares during the trade session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th,  2015.

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