Market watch: Rally in global markets propels KSE-100

Benchmark index gains 186.74 points to settle at 47,219.18

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange experienced another range bound session on Thursday however a rally in international equity markets propelled the KSE-100 index by 187 points.

Concerns over global coal price hike coupled with inflation in the local economy restrained the market from posting substantial gains. Skyrocketing coal prices adversely impacted the cement sector as major names closed in the red.

On the flip side, fertiliser, banks and automobile sectors attracted cherry picking from investors and ended the day mostly with gains.

Trading began with minor ups and downs owing to lack of positive triggers to direct the market. Investors resorted to cherry pick stocks that had earlier fallen to attractive valuations and lent support to the market. The buying activity gained pace towards the end of the session and accelerated the gains.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 186.74 points, or 0.4%, to settle at 47,219.18.

Arif Habib Limited, in its report, said that the market continued to remain range bound on Thursday due to concerns over uptick in Richard bay coal price, food inflation and resumption of foreign selling spree.

Activity remained sideways as market witnessed hefty volumes in the third tier stocks.

Technology sector continued to remain in the limelight throughout the day as traders again placed bet on high beta stocks to mark quick gains.

On the flip-side, institutional activity stayed lackluster.

In the last trading hour, buying was observed in the banking sector and index managed to close above 47,000 levels, the report said.

JS Global analyst Waqar Iqbal said that with Pakistani rupee continuing to strengthen against the dollar, the KSE-100 index kept cheering in the green zone.

Technology sector was in the limelight with TRG Pakistan, Netsol, WorldCall Telecom and Telecard Limited keeping the investor interest intact.

Total traded volume stood at 562 million shares with WorldCall Telecom (9.0%), Byco (4.3%), Telecard Limited (5.7%), First National Equities (10.2%) and Azgard Nine (7.5%) being the highest contributors to volume.

“Going forward, we believe the market is keeping a cautious approach with anticipation of hike in interest rate in the upcoming monetary policy,” he said. “It is recommended for investors to keep booking profits as any dip could be a buying opportunity.”

Overall trading volumes soared to 561.9 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 380.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs16 billion.

Shares of 379 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 235 stocks closed higher, 125 declined and 19 remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 81 million shares, gaining Rs0.22 to close at Rs2.66. It was followed by Byco with 30.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.33 to close at Rs7.98 and Telecard Limited XB with 26.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.98 to close at Rs18.2.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs354.86 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.