Market watch: KSE-100 breaks 46,000 barrier after 272-point gain

Benchmark gains 0.59% to close at 46,013.34

KARACHI: The KSE-100 Index powered past the 46,000-point barrier after a fifth successive finish in the green, with market participants remaining bullish after the second round of rupee devaluation.

The index remained in the negative only for a brief period with cements, banks, autos and steel stocks attracting enough attention to help the KSE-100 sustain its level over 46,000.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index finished with an increase of 271.91 points or 0.59% to settle at 46,013.34.

Elixir Securities' analyst Ali Raza said equities extended their rise with the KSE-100 Index settling above the psychological level of 46,000.



“The market witnessed choppy behaviour in the first half as the initial hour saw sideways trading; the index then geared up to test 46,000 intra-day but lost all gains on profit-booking by mid-day.

“However, gains in select index stocks across oils, fertilisers, steels and autos helped the index rise again and sustain gains by the day's end.

“Pakistan Oilfields (+5%) topped the leaderboard on unconfirmed rumours of a significant discovery in two of the company-operated wells.

“Fauji Fertilizer (+3.6%) came second in line in terms of contribution after it apprised investors of a $39 million equity investment in Thar Energy, with additional $82 million under sponsor support commitments.

“We expect overall activity to remain upbeat in the near-term with flows from foreigners and local institutions guiding market direction.”

JS Research analyst Maaz Mullah said Interest was seen in financials and cements by local institutions.



“Mixed sentiments were seen in the OMC sector where PSO (+0.72%) and SHEL (+3.06) closed in the green. On the flipside, HASCOL (-0.71%) closed in the red as the company announced its full year 2017 result, where the unconsolidated EPS stood at Rs10.70, up 15% year-on-year, with Rs3.5 per share final cash dividend, taking full years DPS to Rs7.

“Moving forward, we expect the index to remain positive with flows from local institutions and foreigners directing the market.”

Overall, trading volumes increased to 282.6 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 262.5 million.



Shares of 382 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 173 stocks closed higher, 189 declined while 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs12.9 billion.

Lotte Chemical Pakistan was the volume leader with 28.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.40 to close at Rs11.23. It was followed by K-Electric Limited with 27.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.08 to close at Rs6.96 and Worldcall Telecom Ltd with 18.6 million shares, losing Rs0.06 to close at Rs2.18.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs230.6 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.