Market watch: Stocks rise, aided by IT sector package

Benchmark KSE-100 index gains 120.74 points to settle at 45,132.92

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange staged a rebound on Wednesday as the KSE-100 index climbed 121 points, aided by investor interest in technology stocks.

The approval of an incentive package for the IT industry by Prime Minister Imran Khan triggered bullish activity in the technology sector, where stocks were in the limelight throughout the session.

Moreover, market participants took cue from the recovery in Asian markets and engaged in fresh buying, which helped the KSE-100 index make a U-shaped recovery.

The uptrend was further supported by the announcement of robust financial results by index-heavy companies. Also, expectation of fruitful results from the visit of PM Khan to Russia strengthened investor sentiment.

Earlier, trading began on a positive note, however, the index wiped out the gains and entered negative territory towards midday. Late session buying aided the index in making a sharp recovery, which led to positive close of the market.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 120.74 points, or 0.27%, to settle at 45,132.92 points.

A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the market remained volatile due to political uncertainty and higher global commodity prices. Cement sector remained under pressure in the wake of higher international coal prices, it said.

JS Global analyst Waqar Iqbal said that the stock market took a dip during intra-day trading, but managed to recover later, closing at 45,133, up 121 points day-on-day.

“Going forward, range-bound activity is expected due to the geopolitical situation and ongoing rollover week,” the analyst said.

Topline Securities, in its report, said that Pakistan equities welcomed prime minister’s incentive package for the IT sector as the market opened on a positive note with an increase of over 100 points.

The announcement of a Rs1 billion fund along with other incentives for promoting startups and IT freelancing put technology stocks on investors’ radar, it said.

Overall trading volumes fell to 186.4 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 227.2 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.8 billion.

Shares of 348 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 178 stocks closed higher, 153 declined and 17 remained unchanged.

Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 13.6 million shares, losing Rs0.15 to close at Rs7.8. It was followed by Telecard Limited with 12.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.59 to close at Rs15.34 and WorldCall Telecom with 11.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.02 to close at Rs1.82.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs94.9 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.