KSE-100 finishes at record high, closes in on 50,000

Benchmark KSE 100-share Index rises 511.35 points


Our Correspondent January 23, 2017
Benchmark KSE 100-share Index rises 511.35 points PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: Pakistan equities continued their winning streak, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at a new record high near the coveted 50,000-point level.

A positive open was followed by a gradual increase throughout the day as the index gained over 1% in intra-day trading.

At close, the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded a rise of 1.04% or 511.35 points to end at 49,876.18.

Elixir Securities, in its report, stated market opened positive and gained steadily throughout as consumers, industrials including steels and autos, carried the momentum on steady domestic liquidity.

Market watch: Index continues its rising momentum

“Main highlight was K-Electric (KEL PA +6.3%) that traded above its deal price of Rs10.10/share as local institutional investors reportedly accumulated on hopes that foreign selling has exhausted.

“KEL fell short of just 3.4 million shares to break its all-time high traded volume, however, contributed more than one-third of total traded shares on KSE All Index and nearly two-thirds of total volumes on KSE-100 Index,” said analyst Ali Raza.

“Cements traded volatile and closed mixed as Cherat Cement (CHCC PA +0.2%) made a surprise announcement of another expansion,” he said.

“Financials closed mixed on relatively less volumes, while oils closed mostly in green tracking recovery in global crude,” said Raza.

“Meanwhile, fertilisers also garnered attention on official confirmation of subsidy and approval on urea exports that reignited investors’ interest and pushed most notable names to close higher,” he commented.

“[We] see current momentum to continue in near-term with KSE-100 Index comfortably surpassing the 50,000 psychological level on strong domestic liquidity, earnings and pay-out excitement,” he added.

Market watch: Bourse breaks negative streak, closes in the black

“Financials closed mixed on relatively less volumes, while oils closed

Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Nabeel Haroon said positivity prevailed in the market on the first trading session of the week as the index gained around 511.

“Intraday rally was witnessed in the fertiliser sector on the back of the news that ECC in its meeting has endorsed continuation of fertiliser subsidy scheme for FY17 and has also permitted export of 0.3 million tons of urea fertiliser till April 28, 2017 without any subsidy. FATIMA (5%) and EFERT (2.05%) were among the major gainers of the aforementioned sector,” said Haroon.

“DOL and SPL gained to close on their respective upper circuits as NTC through a notification has extended anti-dumping duties imposed on dumped imports of Hydrogen Peroxide,” he said.

“INIL, ISL and ASL closed on their respective upper caps for the third consecutive trading session on the back of the news that NTC has imposed definitive anti-dumping duties on dumped imports of cold rolled coils/sheets from China and Ukraine in the range of 13-19%.

Market watch: Intra-day gains wiped off as index ends marginally lower

“HCAR (+4.64%) in the automobile sector gained on the back of investor anticipation of a promising result for the company's Dec-16 end quarter (3Q), which is due on  January 25, 2017,” the analyst remarked.

“Moving forward, we recommend investors to book profits on strength at current levels,” he added.

Trading volumes rose to 600 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 459 million.

Shares of 439 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 277 stocks closed higher, 146 declined while 16 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs24.4 billion.

K-Electric Limited was the volume leader with 213 million shares, gaining Rs0.60 to finish at Rs10.16. It was followed by Lotte Chemical with 27.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.36 to close at Rs9.13 and Japan Power with 25.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.81 to close at Rs7.03.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs1.162 billion during the trading session, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

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