Market watch: Stocks snap losing streak on positive news flow
Shares of 338 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 175 stocks closed higher. PHOTO: REUTERS
The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday snapped its four-day bearish streak and made partial recovery owing to a handful of positive economic developments.
The benchmark KSE-100 index added 178 points on the last trading day of the week, after posting a cumulative loss of around 2,550 points in the prior four sessions.
Bulls found some respite on speculation about the receipt of Saudi Arabian assistance this week amid renewed hopes for the resumption of International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan programme.
Moreover, the timely resolution of margins dispute with petroleum dealers late on Thursday evening also played a role in strengthening investor interest.
Earlier, trading kicked off on a positive note as the index climbed in early hours but investors began booking profit later, which erased the gains and first half of the session closed with a loss of 36 points.
The second half started with a dip, however, cherry-picking by investors helped the index rise sharply and close the session on a positive note.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 178.41 points, or 0.41%, to settle at 44,114.16.
A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the battle between bulls and bears was conquered by the former in the last trading hour.
The market opened with positive momentum as investors assumed that the last leg of the foreign selling spree had been completed on the previous trading day.
However, forecasts of investors did not turn out to be true and foreign selling continued, which led the market back to the red territory.
The market continued to trade sideways and recorded hefty volumes in third-tier stocks.
In the second half of the session, institutional buyers started accumulating value stocks due to attractive multiples, which helped the market to close in the green zone.
Sectors contributing to the performance included commercial banks (+74 points), power (+53 points), fertiliser (+48 points), cement (+34 points) and pharmaceuticals (+15 points).
JS Global analyst Waqar Iqbal said that the KSE-100 index gained 178 points to close at 44,114.
“The market remained range bound in the first half owing to news related to the reduction in SBP reserves, the rupee hitting the low of 176 against the dollar in the open market and the expected outflow on November 30 due to MSCI rebalancing,” he said.
The second half, however, was positive as finance minister’s clarification came regarding tax exemptions and that no new tax would be imposed in the upcoming mini-budget.
“Going forward, the market is likely to track foreign flows and investors are recommended to take a cautious approach,” the analyst said.
Overall trading volumes increased to 289.8 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 195.2 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs10.3 billion.
Shares of 338 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 175 stocks closed higher, 146 declined and 17 remained unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 34.2 million shares, closing unchanged at Rs2.11. It was followed by TPL Properties XB with 17.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.5 to close at Rs43.23 and Byco Petroleum with 15 million shares, losing Rs0.01 to close at Rs6.43.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs614.3 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.