Market watch: KSE-100 extends gains as political clarity emerges

Benchmark index increases 240.73 points to settle at 33,439. 69

KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 index extended gains on Wednesday and rose 241 points as some stability emerged on the political front during the day.

The government has allowed Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) to hold Azadi March if the political party adhered to certain conditions. The announcement provided the bourse with much-needed boost and strengthened investor sentiment.

Owing to talk of rapprochement between the government and JUI-F over the planned long march, trading began with a sharp spike in the morning but the index became flat from that point onwards because investors waited for an official announcement.

Confirmation of the news later in the session further bolstered investor confidence and propelled the market close to 33,500 points.

At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 240.73 points, or 0.73%, to settle at 33,439.69.

Arif Habib Limited, in its report, stated that the market responded positively to rumours of rapprochement between the government and JUI-F over the long march.

"The rumour became news by the end of the session," it said. "Prior to market's close, the index gained 441 points and later sustained a loss of approximately 150 points due to selling pressure on leading cement sector stocks."

DG Khan Cement, Lucky Cement and Maple Leaf Cement borne selling pressure on expectations of posting a loss in the quarterly financial results, due to be announced in coming days.

The exploration and production sector responded positively to the increase in international crude prices in the morning, although oil prices went down later in the day.

The banking sector also sparked interest from investors, which helped the index trade at elevated levels.

The technology sector led the volumes table with trading in 176 million shares, followed by the cement sector (11.5 million) and chemical sector (10.2 million).

Among individual stocks, WorldCall Telecom registered trading in 12.6 million shares, followed by Lotte Chemical (6.7 million) and Quice Food (6.6 million), the report added.

JS Global analyst Danish Ladhani said equities closed on a positive note with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 241 points and closing at 33,440.

"The market remained on the positive side, however, we expect it to remain under pressure in the short run due to ongoing developments pertaining to the opposition's Azadi March and tensions along the Pak-India border," he said.

In the exploration and production sector, Oil and Gas Development Company (+1.7%), Pakistan Petroleum (+1.5%) and Pakistan Oilfields (+2.6%) remained in the positive territory, though crude oil prices extended losses in the international market.

Mixed sentiment was seen in the fertiliser sector where big names Engro (+2.1%) and Fauji Fertiliser (+0.8%) closed up.

There was also mixed sentiment in the financial sector where MCB Bank (+1.9%) and UBL (+0.1%) went up whereas HBL (-0.1%) remained in the red zone.

Traded value for the day stood at $23 million, up 13% and volumes came in at 117 million shares, up 40%, the analyst said.

Overall, trading volumes increased to 116.9 million shares compared with Tuesday's tally of 83.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.59 billion.

Shares of 351 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 205 stocks closed higher, 132 declined and 14 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 12.6 million shares, losing Rs0.01 to close at Rs1.01. It was followed by Lotte Chemical with 6.8 million shares, losing Rs0.02 to close at Rs16.24 and Quice Food with 6.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.4 to close at Rs3.65.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs80.93 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.