KARACHI:
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended gains on Tuesday as the KSE-100 index closed up by over 550 points, driven by the easing of political uncertainty, rising global oil prices and expectations of a reduction in policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
While the bourse came under some selling pressure earlier in the trading session, when it dipped to the intra-day low of 113,836.61 points, bulls swiftly took charge, providing the needed momentum, which took the index to the intra-day high of 115,044.79 later in the day. The recovery was led by heavyweight sectors such as banks, oil and gas companies and refineries.
Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti wrote, “Stocks closed bullish, led by blue chips, in an earnings season rally due to attractive valuations.”
Easing political noise, higher global crude oil prices and speculation about the SBP’s monetary policy announcement were the key catalysts for bullish close at the PSX, he added.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index added 574.11 points, or 0.50%, and settled at 114,804.17.
JS Global analyst Muhammad Hasan Ather commented that the KSE-100 index climbed 574 points in a rally driven by strong buying in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement and oil & gas marketing companies.
He said the automobile sector remained in the limelight in anticipation of decent monthly sales. Cnergyico PK, Pakistan Refinery, K-Electric, WorldCall Telecom and Sui Southern Gas Company recorded the highest trading volumes. Investors were optimistic ahead of the potential monetary easing by the SBP, he added and saw a positive market outlook in the long term.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) observed that the market reached the 115,000-point level with further gains for the index. Some 63 shares rose while 35 fell with United Bank (+3.29%), Mari Petroleum (+1.54%) and Systems Limited (+2.28%) contributing the most to index gains.
On the flip side, Oil and Gas Development Company (-1.23%), Engro Holdings (-2.07%) and Pakistan Petroleum (-0.81%) were the biggest index drags, it said.
The market was going good on the recovery side with support strengthening at 112k and the index hitting 115k early in the week, AHL added.
In its comments, Topline Securities mentioned that Tuesday’s trading session saw the market make significant gains. BF Biosciences in the pharma sector maintained its upward momentum, hitting the upper circuit, while Engro Holdings dragged the index down, contributing a loss of 145 points, it said.
KTrade Securities wrote in its review that despite gains, trading volumes remained subdued, standing at 588 million shares, amid muted buyer enthusiasm. Sector-wise, the banking sector led the advance, followed closely by technology and cement stocks.
As the market shifts focus to the upcoming results season, the outlook stays cautious. However, cyclical sectors such as cement and auto as well as exploration and production companies were expected to outperform once market sentiment improved, it added.
Overall trading volumes increased to 589.5 million shares against Monday’s tally of 521.2 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs32.6 billion.
Shares of 463 companies were traded. Of these, 269 stocks closed higher, 137 fell and 57 remained unchanged.
Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with trading in 42.5 million shares, rising Rs0.26 to close at Rs7.21. It was followed by Pakistan Refinery with 38.1 million shares, gaining Rs2.74 to close at Rs41.50 and K-Electric with 33.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.12 to close at Rs5.
During the day, foreign investors sold shares worth Rs654.7 million, according to the NCCPL.
