Market watch: Stocks turn bullish due to drop in oil prices
Shares of 346 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 211 stocks closed higher. PHOTO: REUTERS
Bulls returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday, propping up the KSE-100 index by 353 points, aided by the drop in global crude oil prices.
The plunge in oil rates below $100 per barrel revived investor interest and the pessimism over further widening of the current account deficit and swelling imports subsided slightly.
However, the political turbulence in the country was a stumbling block, owing to which the market traded in a narrow range for most part of the session.
Earlier, the trading began with a spike but selling pressure erased the gains in the KSE-100 index in early hours and a lack of positive triggers kept the index flat till noon.
After midday, the market witnessed renewed optimism as a drop in oil prices enticed investors to make fresh buying. As a result, the market made a rapid climb and closed over the 43,500-point barrier.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 352.93 points, or 0.81%, to settle at 43,719.82 points.
A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that another lacklustre session was observed at the bourse due to political noise.
“The market opened in the green zone and stayed positive throughout the day,” it said.
Main board activity continued to remain sluggish, whereas the market witnessed hefty volumes in third-tier stocks. In the last trading hour, buying was observed across the board, the report said.
JS Global analyst Mubashir Anis Naviwala said that political uncertainty resulted in a range-bound session where trading remained dull throughout the day.
“KSE-100 closed the session at 43,720, gaining 353 points,” he said.
Total traded volumes stood at 189 million shares where Telecard Limited (+9.1%), TPL Properties (+4.7%), Treet Corp (+3.4%), WorldCall Telecom (+0.6%) and SSGC (+3.8%) accounted for 39% of the aggregate volume.
“Going forward, we expect range-bound activity to continue and recommend investors to avail any downside as an opportunity to buy in tech, cement and textile sectors,” the analyst said.
A report of Topline Securities stated that equities closed on a positive note as the benchmark KSE-100 index settled at 43,720.
“The market opened on a positive note over decline in international oil prices and hit an intra-day high of 426 points,” it said.
Overall trading volumes jumped to 189 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 115.1 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.7 billion.
Shares of 346 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 211 stocks closed higher, 105 declined and 30 remained unchanged.
Telecard Limited was the volume leader with 19.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.95 to close at Rs11.36. It was followed by TPL Properties with 15.3 million shares, gaining Rs1.02 to close at Rs22.73 and Treet Corp with 13.7 million shares, gaining Rs1.01 to close at Rs30.99.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs136.3 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan