Bourse rallies over political clarity

KSE-100 index surges by 364.33 points, settles at 41,463.91

KARACHI:

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) posted a decent rally on Thursday as optimistic investors opted to make fresh investment on renewed hopes after clarity and positive developments on the political front.

Market players took fresh positions on the back of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial’s statement that courts could not force political parties to hold negotiations.

Encouraging corporate results further boosted investor interest and gave a new impetus to buying activity.

The KSE-100 index accelerated and remained in the green zone throughout the session, touching an intraday high of 41,518.74 points.

“Stocks surged in an earnings season rally amid speculation about PM seeking a vote of confidence in the National Assembly and improving economic indicators in the wake of current account surplus for March,” said Arif Habib Commodities CEO Ahsan Mehanti.

“Rupee stability and talk of surging Chinese investment in CPEC projects played the role of catalysts in bullish activity.” At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index registered an increase of 364.33 points, or 0.89%, and settled at 41,463.91.

Topline Securities reported that it was a positive day for Pakistan equities.

“The KSE- 100 index mostly remained in the green zone and eventually settled at 41,464 (+364 points; or 0.89%) for the day,” it said.

“The buying momentum can be attributed to ‘cooling off’ on the political front following CJP remarks with regard to the initiation of dialogue among political parties (if they would like to do so) without any direction or timeline from the court.” Fertiliser, E&P and banking sectors contributed positively to the index where Dawood Hercules, Mari Petroleum, United Bank, Pakistan Services and Meezan Bank added 190 points cumulatively.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) reported that bullish trend continued at the PSX.

“The KSE-100 index opened with positive momentum and continued to trade in the green throughout the day, reaching intra-day high of 419.84 points,” it said.

“Investor participation remained active due to positive outcomes on the political front.” Volumes picked up as higher-than-expected results were announced by banking, technology and cement sectors, boosting the confidence of investors, AHL added.

JS Global analyst Muhammed Waqar Iqbal said that the bourse continued to trade with positive momentum.

“Going forward, we recommend investors to stay cautious and book profits,” the analyst added.

Overall trading volumes decreased to 169.1 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 186.9 million.

The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.2 billion.

Shares of 342 companies were traded.

At close, 175 stocks closed higher, 141 declined and 26 remained unchanged.

Bank Alfalah was the volume leader with trading in 14.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.2 to close at Rs29.46.

It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 7.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.64 to close at Rs27.61 and Pakistan Refinery with 6.9 million shares, losing Rs0.31 to close at Rs13.91.

Foreign investors were net buyers of Rs353.4 million worth of shares, according to the NCCPL.