Market watch: Bulls maintain control, lift KSE-100 upwards

Benchmark index rises 380.02 points to close at 44,943.61

KARACHI:

Bulls held their positions at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday and helped lift the KSE-100 index upwards by 380 points.

News of partial release of payments to independent power producers (IPPs) by the government aided the rally at the bourse.

Upbeat investor sentiment also stemmed from encouraging cement sales data for April 2021, which showed a double-digit growth on a year-on-year basis. As a result, stocks of cement and allied sector attracted investor interest.

Fuelling the uptrend was the news that Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin was expected to seek valuable input for preparing a people-friendly and growth-oriented budget for the upcoming fiscal year. After a year of economic struggle amid Covid-19, investors pinned hopes on a favourable budget for the economy.

The KSE-100 index spiked over 500 points within the first hour of trading and rose at a steady pace. However, investor sentiment weakened towards midday as Covid-19 cases recorded a jump after easing for a few days and as a result some of market gains were erased.

A buying spree, emerging in the final hours, aided the index to inch closer to the 45,000-point mark.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 380.02 points, or 0.85%, to settle at 44,943.61 points.

In its report, Arif Habib Limited stated that the market continued to be on the uptrend on Wednesday, led by power, bank, exploration and production and oil and gas marketing companies’ stocks.

However, technology stocks had erratic movement that dragged NetSol and TRG Pakistan down, causing the index to go down as well.

The index posted an overall gain of 610 points during the session and closed up by 380 points.

News of partial release of funds by the government to settle outstanding dues of IPPs helped Hubco and Kapco to perform. Similarly, PSO also fared well on the prospect of receipt of funds from the IPPs, it said.

JS Global analyst Neelum Naz said that bulls stayed in control of the market as the KSE-100 index touched a high of 45,173 and closed at 44,943, up 380 points.

“IPPs were in the limelight on expectations that payments would be made to them soon,” she said. “In other important news, cement sales (local and exports) showed a double-digit growth in April compared to the same period of last year.”

However, the news could not spark a major activity in the cement sector.

Volume leaders of the day were Unity Foods (+1.5%), Telecard Limited (+5.6%), TRG Pakistan (-3%), Ghani Global Holdings (-0.2%) and NetSol (+2.1%), contributing a cumulative 139 million shares to the total volumes.

“Thursday being the last working day before Eid holidays, a cautious stance is advised and profit-taking can be witnessed on the upside,” the analyst said.

Overall trading volumes rose to 259.9 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 221.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs14.8 billion.

Shares of 370 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 227 stocks closed higher, 126 declined and 17 remained unchanged.

Unity Foods was the volume leader with 42.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.53 to close at Rs34.99. It was followed by Telecard Limited with 32.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.83 to close at Rs15.58 and TRG Pakistan with 30.1 million shares, losing Rs4.96 to close at Rs162.36.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs193.96 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.