Market watch: Stocks rally ahead of corporate results

Benchmark index adds 263.35 points to settle at 45,345.65

KARACHI:

Bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday as the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a decent rally and ended the week on a positive note.

After losing some ground a day earlier and ending a seven-day winning streak, the benchmark index again enjoyed a bull run ahead of major corporate result announcements due next week as investors opted to cherry-pick stocks across the board.

Moreover, upbeat housing and construction finance data for 2021, which surged 85%, coupled with hopes for positive development in the upcoming executive board meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) instilled optimism among market participants.

Earlier, trading started on a weak note as the index fell steeply in the initial hours, touching intra-day low of 44,969 points. However, it managed to erase the losses soon after as investors resorted to cherry-picking of stocks at attractive valuations.

Later, the index oscillated in a narrow range and managed to add some more points towards the end of trading.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 263.35 points, or 0.58%, to settle at 45,345.65.

A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the KSE-100 index closed in the green zone as investors became optimistic about the IMF’s executive board meeting on January 12.

Profit-taking was witnessed in the first trading hour after the coronavirus positivity ratio exceeded 2% in a single day for the first time since October 14 last year.

Fertiliser sector was in the limelight due to expectation of a hike in urea prices in the market. Cement sector remained under pressure following the uptick in international coal prices.

Activity continued to remain sideways as the market witnessed hefty volumes in third-tier stocks.

Sectors contributing to the performance included banks (+108 points), fertiliser (+98 points), power (+46 points), exploration and production (+36 points) and engineering (+11 points), the report said.

JS Global analyst Neelam Naz said that benchmark index closed in the green zone on Friday at the 45,346 level, gaining 263 points day-on-day.

The session however, witnessed dull trading volumes with 242 million shares traded.

Top three volume leaders were Telecard (6.8%), WorldCall Telecom (0.9%) and TRG Pakistan (-7.5%).

“We believe, upcoming corporate result announcements will further strengthen the positive momentum whereas any downside in the market will pave an opportunity for buying,” the analyst said.

Overall trading volumes fell to 242.3 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 345.3 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.9 billion.

Shares of 354 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 208 stocks closed higher, 124 declined and 22 remained unchanged.

Telecard Limited was the volume leader with 26.1 million shares, gaining Rs1.17 to close at Rs18.43. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 21.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.02 to close at Rs2.28 and TRG Pakistan with 18.99 million shares, losing Rs8.57 to close at Rs105.76.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs5.36 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.