Market watch: Bulls break free; make strong comeback

Benchmark KSE-100 index gains 119 points.

KARACHI: The bulls had a field day at the stock market on Tuesday, staging a strong rally on news of continued foreign buying in local scrips. On the domestic front: “Serenity prevailed in today’s National Reconciliation Ordinance hearing and there are signs of an early election. With the dust appearing to settle on the political front, investors opted to take fresh positions,” remarked Muhammad Rizwan, senior manager equity sales at Topline Securities.

“The benchmark index inches further closer to its all-time high of 15,676 points. However, activity remained skewed towards mid-cap stocks,” he added.

The Karachi Stock Exchange’s (KSE) benchmark 100-share index surged 0.77% or 118.51 points to end at the 15,517.19 points level. Trade volumes climbed to 129 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 93 million shares. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.53 billion.

“Investor interest was witnessed in stocks across the board on strong valuations,” said Ahsan Mehanti, from Arif Habib Corp.

“A current account surplus of $1.2 billion in August; the new EU trade waiver on Pakistani exports: easing concerns on the circular debt; and speculations ahead of the implementation of the International Clearing House mechanism for the telecom sector played a catalyst role in bullish sentiments, despite security concerns,” he noted.

Shares of 367 companies were traded on Tuesday. At the end of the day 202 stocks closed higher, 103 declined while 62 remained unchanged.

“Oil stocks closed positive on better-than-expected corporate announcements,” reported Mujtaba Barakzai, analyst at JS Global.

Karachi Electric Supply Company was the volume leader with 14.75 million shares gaining Rs0.61 to finish at Rs7.76. It was followed by Fatima Fertilizer Company with 10.10 million shares gaining Rs1.15 to close at Rs24.29 and Pakistan Telecommunication Company with 9.68 million shares gaining Rs0.60 to close at Rs19.55.

“Pakistan Oilfield’s impressive payout lured investors; while Pakistan State Oil surged 2.5% on an attractive valuation. Across the board, Nishat Mills, Engro and Engro Foods rallied on technicals.”

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs142.04 million, according to data maintained by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2012.