Market watch: Oil steers index into the black
Benchmark KSE-100 index gains 139.60 points
Benchmark KSE-100 index gains 139.60 points.
KARACHI:
Led by gains in oil and cement stocks, the benchmark-100 index managed to close marginally positive despite low volume and absence of major triggers.
At close on Tuesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s KSE-100 index rose 0.45% or 139.60 points to end at 31,509.11.
Elixir Securities analyst Ali Raza said oils were the major winners on Tuesday with index-heavy exploration and production (E&P) opening gap up, tracking rise in global crude.
“Pakistan Oilfields (PPL PA +5%) and Mari Petroleum (MARI PA +5%) both hit upper price limits during the day on reported institutional buying, while Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC PA 2.77%) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL PA +1.33%) also closed higher.
“On the other hand, cements continued their northbound journey after correcting briefly in the morning with most notable names closing in green. However, wider market barring oils and cements traded lacklustre in absence of flows and lack of interest, while CPI inflation reading for February was a non-event with 4.02% YoY increase during the month,” said Raza.
“We see the market to trade in a narrow band and hover near 31,500 primarily tracking institutional flows as investors continue to hunt for triggers and brace foreign selling in index names,” he added.
Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Ahmad Saeed Khan said the market closed on a positive note on the back of strength in global oil prices as the E&P sector closed in the green zone.
“Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL -5%) closed on its lower circuit breaker as it announced a disappointing dividend of Rs1/shares versus expectation of Rs1.25,” said Khan.
“The banking sector, led by Habib Bank Limited (HBL 0.01%), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP 0.70%) and Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL 1.68%) gained as CPI numbers for February came at 4% versus 3.32% for January, showing a rising trend.
“Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT 0.45%) continued its previous day gain on the back of newspaper reports that suggested that it would continue to get 60mmcfd gas from the Mari network.
“We expect the market to remain volatile and recommend investors to stay cautious,” he noted.
Trade volumes fell to 94 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 130 million.
Shares of 323 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 145 stocks closed higher, 150 declined while 28 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.8 billion.
TRG Pakistan Limited was the volume leader with 5.4 million shares, losing Rs0.21 to finish at Rs24.24. It was followed by K-Electric Limited with 5.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.18 to close at Rs6.94 and Bank Alfalah Limited with 5.2 million shares, losing Rs1.35 to close at Rs25.68.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs262 million during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2016.
Led by gains in oil and cement stocks, the benchmark-100 index managed to close marginally positive despite low volume and absence of major triggers.
At close on Tuesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s KSE-100 index rose 0.45% or 139.60 points to end at 31,509.11.
Elixir Securities analyst Ali Raza said oils were the major winners on Tuesday with index-heavy exploration and production (E&P) opening gap up, tracking rise in global crude.
“Pakistan Oilfields (PPL PA +5%) and Mari Petroleum (MARI PA +5%) both hit upper price limits during the day on reported institutional buying, while Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC PA 2.77%) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL PA +1.33%) also closed higher.
“On the other hand, cements continued their northbound journey after correcting briefly in the morning with most notable names closing in green. However, wider market barring oils and cements traded lacklustre in absence of flows and lack of interest, while CPI inflation reading for February was a non-event with 4.02% YoY increase during the month,” said Raza.
“We see the market to trade in a narrow band and hover near 31,500 primarily tracking institutional flows as investors continue to hunt for triggers and brace foreign selling in index names,” he added.
Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Ahmad Saeed Khan said the market closed on a positive note on the back of strength in global oil prices as the E&P sector closed in the green zone.
“Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL -5%) closed on its lower circuit breaker as it announced a disappointing dividend of Rs1/shares versus expectation of Rs1.25,” said Khan.
“The banking sector, led by Habib Bank Limited (HBL 0.01%), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP 0.70%) and Bank Al Habib Limited (BAHL 1.68%) gained as CPI numbers for February came at 4% versus 3.32% for January, showing a rising trend.
“Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT 0.45%) continued its previous day gain on the back of newspaper reports that suggested that it would continue to get 60mmcfd gas from the Mari network.
“We expect the market to remain volatile and recommend investors to stay cautious,” he noted.
Trade volumes fell to 94 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 130 million.
Shares of 323 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 145 stocks closed higher, 150 declined while 28 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.8 billion.
TRG Pakistan Limited was the volume leader with 5.4 million shares, losing Rs0.21 to finish at Rs24.24. It was followed by K-Electric Limited with 5.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.18 to close at Rs6.94 and Bank Alfalah Limited with 5.2 million shares, losing Rs1.35 to close at Rs25.68.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs262 million during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 2nd, 2016.