Institutional buying propels PSX above 62k
A sign of the Pakistan Stock Exchange is seen on its building in Karachi, Pakistan January 11, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday extended its previous day’s rally and closed above 62,000 with gains of nearly 1,200 points, thanks to significant institutional buying that provided vital support to the market.
Investor optimism prevailed in line with the previous successful session, with power, banking, oil and gas, and cement sectors contributing to the advance of the KSE-100 index.
Apart from institutional interest, continuous recovery of Pakistani rupee and the declining government bond yields aided the market’s uptrend.
Earlier, the bourse started off on a positive note and maintained its upward march well after midday when the index touched its intra-day high at 62,750.77 points.
Though the KSE-100 came down somewhat, still it closed the day with a sharp rise of nearly 1,200 points and crossed 62,000 on the back of robust buying by investors.
“Bullish trend continued on institutional buying ahead of year-end and falling government bond yields amid projections of lower inflation and interest rate,” remarked Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti.
“Strong rupee and the Ministry of Commerce’s report about improvement in the balance of trade by $5.6 billion for Jul-Dec 2023 played the role of catalysts in bullish close at the PSX.”
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded another smart recovery of 1,188.61 points, or 1.95%, and settled at 62,052.24.
Topline Securities, in its report, stated that for the second consecutive session, bullish sentiment prevailed in the stock market, propelling the index higher by 1,189 points, which settled at 62,052.
“This positive momentum spurred significant buying interest across various sectors, particularly power, banks, oil and gas, and cement,” it said.
Key contributors to the upward trend included Hub Power, Bank AL Habib, Mari Petroleum, Lucky Cement and Oil and Gas Development Company, collectively contributing 439 points, Topline added.
Read PSX slumps on heavy profit-taking
Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its review, remarked that there were “additional gains for Pakistan with another strong session, extending the distance from the key 60,000 (KSE-100) and 20,000 (KSE-30) levels”.
“Any decline should now find support at 61,000 to set up moves towards 65,000,” it said and highlighted that Pakistan currently ranked 25th in the CY23 global performance table with gains of 23.75% in US dollar terms.
JS Global analyst Mubashir Anis Naviwala said that the market remained upbeat and followed the sharp recovery witnessed on Wednesday with the KSE-100 index gaining 1,189 points to close at 62,052.
“Going forward, we recommend investors to stay cautious at current levels and wait for dips for any fresh buying,” the analyst added.
Overall trading volumes decreased to 676.2 million shares against Wednesday’s tally of 669.4 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs20.3 billion.
Shares of 382 companies were traded. Of these, 283 stocks closed higher, 83 dropped and 16 remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with trading in 62.9 million shares, losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs4.76. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 46.2 million shares, losing Rs0.01 to close at Rs1.42 and Fauji Foods with 43.1 million shares, losing Rs0.37 to close at Rs10.88.
Foreign investors were net sellers of shares worth Rs804.7 million, according to the NCCPL.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2023.
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