Market watch: Stock market continues to recover from hefty loss

Benchmark KSE-100 index rises 145.63 points

KARACHI: The stock market continued to recover for the fourth successive trading session on Monday in the wake of positive triggers following 10 straight days of steep decline.

Mari Petroleum’s announcement to expand operations and strong sales numbers for cement companies primarily contributed to the overall bullish trend.



The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index recorded a rise of 0.45% or 145.63 points to end at 32,853.54.

According to JS Global analyst Ovais Ahsan, the market opened the week on a positive note as local bodies elections were conducted in a peaceful manner over the weekend.

“Engro Foods (+2.90%) gained as its CEO was quoted in a Bloomberg interview talking about the launch of a powdered milk product in the next six months.

“DG Khan Cement (+1.39%) and Maple Leaf (+2%) led the cement sector as investors reacted to strong local sales numbers, which depicted a growth of 20% year-on-year for November 2015.”

Meanwhile, Elixir Securities in its report stated equities maintained the northbound ride as index names barring oil stocks pushed the benchmark KSE-100 to test 33k in intra-day trade, which finally settled with marginally clipped gains.

“Fertiliser sector came in the limelight after weekend news of Mari Petroleum (+5%) ramping up its gas production by 200 mmcfd. Fertilisers that are the biggest beneficiaries of the increase in gas supply gained traction and closed higher including Engro Fertilizers (+5%) and Fauji Fertilizer (+1.34%).

“Volume charts were dominated by small and mid-caps on retail interest in the likes of Pakistan International Airlines that recorded a turnover of over nine million shares after the promulgation of PIA Corporation Conversion Ordinance at the weekend.”

Trade volumes rose to 155 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 130 million.



Shares of 335 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 173 stocks closed higher, 142 declined and 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.1 billion.

K-Electric was the volume leader with 9.2 million shares gaining Rs0.09 to finish at Rs7.37. It was followed by PIA Corporation (A) with 9 million shares gaining Rs0.54 to close at Rs9.30 and Pak Elektron with 8.4 million shares losing Rs0.07 to close at Rs64.25.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs176 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, December 8^th,  2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.