Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday shot up to another record high over anticipation of a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), measures for setting up a sovereign wealth fund and likely approval of the release of $700 million loan tranche by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board.
In the morning, trading kicked off at the intra-day low of 62,061.56 points but it quickly gained momentum, fuelled by positive indicators. These included the stability of Pakistani rupee, increase in foreign portfolio investment, surge in exports and a marked reduction in trade deficit.
The market touched the day’s high at 62,912.61 points after midday, reaching close to the 63,000 barrier. Many investors joined the rally for fear of missing out the buying phenomenon. However, some profit-taking was observed in cement and banking sectors.
“Stocks closed at a new all-time high amid speculation ahead of a landmark free trade agreement with the GCC, government’s measures to set up Pakistan Sovereign Wealth Fund and expected approval of the release of over $700 million tranche by the IMF board this week,” said Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti.
“Rupee stability amid renewed foreign buying interest, exports surging by 7.66% and trade deficit narrowing by 31.7% played the role of catalysts in record close at the PSX.”
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded handsome gains of 801.80 points, or 1.3%, and settled at 62,493.05.
Topline Securities, in its report, wrote that Pakistan equities initiated the week on a strong note and the KSE-100 index crossed the 62,000 level.
“Bull-run was in full swing and the ‘fear of missing out’ buying was observed across the board,” it said.
Pakistan Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Co, Millat Tractors, Mari Petroleum and Hub Power enjoyed a strong buying interest as they cumulatively added 378 points to the index.
On the flip side, United Bank, Lucky Cement, Maple Leaf Cement, Habib Metropolitan Bank, MCB Bank and Pioneer Cement contributed negatively with a loss of 61 points, Topline added.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) commented that the KSE-100 saw another strong session and closed just short of 62.5k as exploration and production (E&P) companies outperformed the index.
Read: Pakistan, GCC hold talks on investment chapter
Key movers were Pakistan Petroleum (+5.62%), Oil and Gas Development Co (+4.55%) and Millat Tractors (+4.16%) while the biggest drags were United Bank (-0.65%), Lucky Cement (-0.5%) and Maple Leaf Cement (-1.3%), it said.
Notable moves were also witnessed in Pakistan Telecommunication Company (+10.04%), Fauji Cement (+6.42%), and Pak Suzuki Motor (-7.5%), following a notice that the minimum proposed price of Rs406 had been set for its voluntary buyback, AHL added.
JS Global analyst Mohammed Waqar Iqbal said that the KSE-100 continued its bullish momentum and closed the day at 62,493 points.
“Going forward, we recommend investors to view any downtrend as an opportunity to buy stocks in banking and E&P sectors,” the analyst added.
Overall trading volumes increased to 734.3 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 531.3 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs31.6 billion.
Shares of 390 companies were traded. Of these, 249 stocks closed higher, 122 dropped and 19 remained unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with trading in 57.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs1.57. It was followed by Fauji Cement with 41.98 million shares, gaining Rs1.21 to close at Rs20.07 and Oil and Gas Development Co with 23.8 million shares, gaining Rs5.02 to close at Rs115.39.
Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth Rs601.3 million, according to the NCCPL.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 5th, 2023.
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