With MSCI review, bulls drive PSX to record

KSE-100 index surges 499.05 points, settles at 92,520.49

KARACHI:

Bulls made a strong comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, sending the KSE-100 index soaring by nearly 500 points to a fresh record high, as investors expected a credit ratings upgrade and injection of fresh Saudi investment.

The market also received a boost from the fall in Sukuk yield and inclusion of several Pakistani companies in the MSCI Frontier Markets Small Cap Index, which would further attract global investors and accelerate foreign fund inflows.

Meanwhile, attention was focused on the upcoming visit of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) review mission, scheduled for next week, to assess Pakistan's performance under the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.

During the day, the KSE-100 oscillated between the intra-day low of 92,185.69 and the intra-day high of 92,694.54.

"Stocks closed at an all-time high as investors anticipated a ratings upgrade following finance minister's assurance of macroeconomic stability. The MSCI is also set to revise Pakistan's standard index weight to 4.4% on November 26, reflecting an outperforming market and improved liquidity," said Ahsan Mehanti, MD of Arif Habib Corp.

"Falling lending rates, over $3 billion in remittances for October and a surge in exports were major catalysts for the record close at the PSX," he added.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index posted a healthy growth of 499.05 points, or 0.54%, and settled at 92,520.49.

Topline Securities, in its commentary, stated that the KSE-100 index opened on a positive note and reached its intra-day high of 673 points.

It was driven by the recent Ijara Sukuk auction, where the cut-off yield on one-year bonds fell to 10.99%, which signalled a potential decline in yields across all tenors in the upcoming T-bills and PIB auctions, it said.

Following the prime minister's visit to Saudi Arabia, a delegation led by the energy minister had been sent, with new Saudi investment expected, including in the Reko Diq mining project.

"This has sparked investors' interest in Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL)," Topline added.

Arif Habib Limited, in its report, wrote that the KSE-100 was starting to pull away from the 92,000 mark and heading into the last session of the week it was up 1.8% week-on-week.

Dawood Hercules Corporation (+7.58%), OGDC (+2.62%), and Engro Corporation (+2.92%) were the biggest contributors to the index gains, while Systems Limited (-2.04%), Habib Bank Limited (-1.4%) and MCB Bank (-0.83%) were the largest drags, it said.

AHL mentioned that the MSCI added eight Pakistani companies and deleted one from its Frontier Markets Small Cap Index. With this, Pakistan's weight in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index reaches around 4.5% and in the Small Cap Index, it stands around 10%.

JS Global analyst Mubashir Anis Naviwala wrote that positive economic signals and rupee stability helped bolster investors' confidence, leading to a strong trading session on Thursday.

The KSE-100 closed in the green, supported by optimism across key sectors. Trading volumes reached 679 million shares, where significant activity was seen in fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, and power generation and distribution sectors, the analyst added.

Overall trading volumes decreased to 678.8 million shares compared with Wednesday's tally of 889.2 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs24.8 billion.

Shares of 449 companies were traded. Of these, 257 stocks closed higher, 145 fell and 47 remained unchanged.

The Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with trading in 62.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.36 to close at Rs6.57. It was followed by Kohinoor Spinning Mills with 46.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.54 to close at Rs7.83 and K-Electric with 34.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.16 to close at Rs4.80.

During the day, foreign investors bought shares worth Rs30.98 million, according to the NCCPL.