Market watch: Impressive rally takes KSE-100 above 43,000

Benchmark index rises 795.82 points to settle at 43,266.22

KARACHI:

Stocks made a swift march upwards on the first day of trading week on Monday with the KSE-100 index pushing its way above the 43,000-point mark with a handsome gain of nearly 800 points.

All of that added Rs26.43 billion to market capitalisation in a single day. The index opened on a positive note and remained bullish throughout the session, touching the day’s high of over 800 points.

Trading was brisk as investors entered the market in droves in search of a good fortune. The tone was set by upbeat economic data which removed some of the dark clouds hovering over the economy of Pakistan.

Bulls reigned supreme at the stock exchange and investors welcomed political clarity as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally in Lahore held on December 13 concluded with an unimpressive turnout of supporters.

Buoyed by strong sentiment, automobile, fertiliser, refinery and exploration and production sectors remained entirely in the green. Apart from these, all other index-heavy sectors also closed in the positive zone.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 795.82 points, or 1.87%, to settle at 43,266.22 points.

BMA Capital Executive Director Saad Hashemy told The Express Tribune, “We attribute this strong rising trend to improving macro numbers and increasing sector-wise sales.”

“Weak show by opposition parties and diminishing political concerns further strengthened investors’ sentiment,” he added.

Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company Head of Research and Development Samiullah Tariq told The Express Tribune that the market performance remained strong on the back of economic developments.

“There are some reasons behind the cheerful performance at the stock exchange, which include upbeat remittances data that stood above $2 billion for the sixth consecutive month, fuelling expectations that balance of payments will remain strong, going forward,” he maintained. “Secondly, easing inflation lent support to the already rising stock index.”

The analyst added that easing political uncertainty coupled with surging liquidity on the back of currency inflows through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) and encashment of existing dividends played the role of catalysts in positive momentum of the market.

JS Global analyst Danish Ladhani said the benchmark KSE-100 index closed on a bullish note at the start of the week and touched a high of +846 points. It finally closed at 43,266, up 796 points.

“The market moved higher post-PDM Lahore rally,” he added. Investors took positions in second and third-tier stocks where top contributors were Pakistan Refinery (+7.3%), Hascol Petroleum (+6%), Azgard Nine (+7.5%), Pakistan International Bulk Terminal (+1.7%), Maple Leaf Cement (+3.4%), TRG Pakistan (+0.5%) and Fauji Foods (+6.4%), which contributed a cumulative 236 million shares.

Exploration and production, fertiliser and financial stocks were the major movers, of which Fauji Fertiliser (+3.8%), Oil and Gas Development Company (+3.3%), Pakistan Petroleum (+2.8%), Engro Corporation (+1.7%), Bank AL Habib (+1.4%), MCB (+1.4%) and UBL (+1.5%) added 251 points to the index.

“Moving forward, we expect the market to remain bullish and recommend investors to buy on dips,” the analyst said.

Overall, trading volumes soared to 629.5 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 557.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs26.4 billion.

Shares of 413 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 320 stocks closed higher, 76 declined and 17 remained unchanged.

Pakistan Refinery was the volume leader with 57.5 million shares, gaining Rs1.55 to close at Rs22.74. It was followed by Hascol Petroleum with 46.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.88 to close at Rs15.62 and Azgard Nine with 30.97 million shares, gaining Rs1.79 to close at Rs25.75.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs65.1 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.