PSX soars on PM’s election

KSE-100 index gains 626.04 points, settles at 65,951.73

KARACHI:

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday extended its upward trajectory from the previous week as investors took cue from the election of a new prime minister and upbeat economic data.

In the morning, trading began on a robust note, supported by the shrinking of trade deficit by 30.2% year-on-year (YoY) to $14.87 billion for July-February 2023-24 and the fall in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation to 23.1% in February 2024.

Additionally, foreign fund inflows, rupee stability and the declining Karachi Interbank Offered Rate (Kibor) played a key role in maintaining the market’s upward momentum.

Consequently, the KSE-100 index broke the psychological barrier of 66,000 points in the morning, reaching the intra-day high at 66,007.43.

Although the market dipped briefly in the afternoon, touching the intra-day low at 65,532.58, positive sentiment stemming from Shehbaz Sharif’s election as the PM for the second time and the ongoing political developments boosted the index.

The market closed the day near the 66,000 mark with substantial gains, with investor interest being mainly witnessed in the exploration and production (E&P) sector.

“Stocks closed bullish as investors weighed the PM’s election, upbeat data on trade deficit that shrank 30.2% YoY to $14.87 billion for July-February FY24 and CPI inflation that fell to 23.1% for February 2024,” said Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti.

“Foreign inflows, rupee stability and falling Kibor played the role of catalysts in bullish close at the PSX.”

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a surge of 626.04 points, or 0.96%, and settled at 65,951.73.

Topline Securities, in its report, said that the KSE-100 index sustained its upward momentum from the previous week. “In a significant political development, Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the prime minister for the second time by the National Assembly, garnering 201 votes,” it said.

Read PSX remains buoyant on political stability

Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposed the doubling of taxes on both salaried and non-salaried individuals. It also recommended raising the general sales tax rate to 18% for various essential items such as unprocessed food, stationery, medicines and petroleum products, Topline added.

Arif Habib Limited (AHL) reported that 57 stocks rose while 37 fell in the KSE-100 index with E&P names leading the rally. Oil and Gas Development Company (+7.17%), Pakistan Petroleum (+6.01%) and Mari Petroleum (+2.78%) were the biggest contributors to the gains while banks were the main drag.

JS Global analyst Mohammed Waqar Iqbal said that the KSE-100 breached the psychological resistance of 66,000 during the trading session but closed at 65,952, gaining 626 points. “Major interest was seen in the E&P sector,” he said.

“Going forward, we expect the uptrend to continue and recommend investors to view any downside as an opportunity to buy stocks in banking, cement and E&P sectors,” the analyst added.

Overall trading volumes increased to 472.9 million shares against Friday’s tally of 344.2 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs16.3 billion.

Shares of 358 companies were traded. Of these, 184 stocks closed higher, 153 dropped and 21 remained unchanged.

Kohinoor Spinning Mills was the volume leader with trading in 67.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.32 to close at Rs5.68. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 60.2 million shares, gaining Rs0.08 to close at Rs1.37 and K-Electric with 36.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.15 to close at Rs5.02.

Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth Rs675.3 million, according to the NCCPL.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2024.

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