KARACHI: The stock market is likely to stay range-bound during the next week owing to the upcoming monetary policy decision and large trade deficit.
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MoU signed for digital aggregation of insurance products
KARACHI: Insurance Association of Pakistan (IAP) and Central Depository Company of Pakistan Limited (CDC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for digital aggregation of insurance products CDC’s Emalaak Financials platform.
Sadia Khan, Commissioner – Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) presided at the MoU Signing Ceremony at the CDC House, Karachi.
At the occasion, describing the features of the platform, CEO CDC Badiuddin Akber said: “This Fintech solution of ‘Emlaak Financials’ is indeed a landmark initiative of national significance, as it aims to become ‘Digital Financial Super Market’ in Pakistan by leveraging the potential of technology to increase outreach for various financial products.”
Azfar Arshad, Chairman IAP applauded the efforts of CDC and SECP and said that this initiative will pave the way for the growth of the Insurance Industry.
While addressing the occasion, Commissioner SECP – Ms. Sadia Khan said that this digital transformation is expected to have an impact throughout the insurance value chain, from underwriting and pricing of products, their marketing, and distribution, through to claims processing and the ongoing customer servicing.
The distribution of insurance products through the digital portal EMLAAK is expected to provide low-cost and centralized solutions to policyholders by providing comparative cost-benefit analysis of different products on a centralized platform.
This will lead to a reduction in the protection gap as new market segments are accessed as well as an increase in the insurance penetration.
The goal of the regulator is to enable the insurance industry to play its rightful role both in terms of providing the social safety net as well as the development of the capital market.
She commended the role of CDC in bringing this new initiative to life by capitalizing on its technological capability.
The event was attended by the senior members of IAP’s Executive Committee and other high-ranking officials of the Insurance industry.
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Stocks end flat amid bears rule over bulls
KARACHI: Stocks ended flat and on Friday as bears rule over the bulls during the day due to alarming current account deficit.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 43,233 points as against the previous day’s close of 43,234 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the bears ruled over the bulls today due to concerns over an alarming number of current account deficit, devaluation of Pak rupee, and a big jump in cut-off yields of treasury bills indicating a hawkish stance in the upcoming monetary policy.
Yesterday, a sharp downfall in the market occurred due to a sell-off by mutual funds which eventually created an attractive opportunity for value hunters.
The market opened on a positive note as value hunters did aggressive buying in the first session.
In the second session, across the board selling was witnessed as PKR closed at an all-time low of 176.77, down 0.2 per cent DoD.
Moving forward, the analysts expect the market to remain volatile and recommend a cautious approach.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-180 points), Technology (-63 points), Engineering (-35 points), Textile Composite (-31 points) and Refinery (-25 points).
Volumes decreased from 386.8 million shares to 287.7 million shares (25.6 per cent DoD). Traded value also decreased by 26.9 per cent to reach US$ 58.1 million as against US$ 79.6 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, TPLP, BYCO, UNITY and TRG.
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Pakistan stock exchange crashes; ends down 4.71%
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) faced a severe downturn on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index plummeting by 2,135 points in response to unfavorable reports on the fiscal front.
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Share market up by 297 points as trading seen in banks
KARACHI: The share market witnessed an increase of 297 points on Wednesday due to trading activity seen in the banking sector following an unexpected rise in inflation.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,369 points as against the previous day’s closing of 45,072 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the KSE-100 index stayed in the green zone throughout the day as the market celebrated the transition from emerging to frontier market.
The index opened with a bullish momentum as traders took an aggressive bet on cement, steel, and technology stocks.
Later, accumulation was witnessed in the banking sector as CPI for the month of November 2021 clocked in at 11.53 per cent YoY (+3 per cent MoM), the highest inflation in 21 months influenced by a record hike in fuel prices.
In the last trading hour, a sharp upside was witnessed as short-sellers jumped into square-off trading positions.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (+113 points), Commercial Banks (+85 points), Fertilizer (+32 points), E&P (+20 points) and Power (+16 points).
Volumes decreased from 411.5 million shares to 241.1 million shares (-41.4 per cent DoD). Traded value also decreased by 73.5 per cent to reach US$ 52.6 million as against US$ 198.4 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include FFL, FFLR1, TPLP, MLCF and TRG.
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Shares fall 258 points amid hefty volumes
KARACHI: Shares at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a decline of 258 points on Tuesday amid hefty volumes. The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,072 points as against the previous day’s closing of 45,330 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that on the MSCI rebalancing day, the KSE-100 index witnessed a volatile session as it made a dicey move of more than 1,000 points, making a close above 45,000 points benchmark.
The E&P sector stayed in the limelight as the government is considering a scheme to reduce the stock of the circular debt by declaring dividends for the shareholders of energy sector companies.
In the last two trading hours, Institutional investors accumulated across the board as it was the last opportunity to catch foreign selling spree due to the transition from emerging to frontier market. Mainboard stocks witnessed hefty volumes today.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Commercial Banks (-160 points), Fertilizer (-78 points), Inv. Banks (-18.3 points), FMCG (-16.2 points) and Textile Composite (-12.8 points).
Volumes increased from 268.2 million shares to 411.5 million shares (+53.4 per cent DoD). Traded value increased by 219.4 per cent to reach US$ 198.2 million as against US$ 52.0 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HBL, FNEL, UBL, TRG and MCB.
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Stocks climb up by 1,216 points on Saudi support
KARACHI: The stocks climbed up by 1,216 points on Monday following cabinet approval for Saudi Arabia’s $3 billion support package.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,330 points as against last Friday’s closing of 44,114 points, showing an increase of 1,216 points or 2.8 per cent.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the KSE-100 index witnessed a bull-run as it gained more than 1,200 points in intraday trading to cross 45,000 points today, lifted by the cabinet approval to revive Saudi Arabia’s $3 billion support package for Pakistan in safe deposits and $1.2 billion worth of oil supplies on deferred payments.
A major dip in crude oil prices created positive momentum in the market despite the emergence of a new variant of Covid-19.
The perception of investors towards the last leg of the foreign selling spree being completed last week created an opportunity for intra-day traders.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Commercial Banks (+283 points), Cement (+211 points), E7P (+139 points), Fertilizer (+100 points) and OMC’s (+76 points).
Volumes decreased from 289.8 million shares to 268.2 million shares (-7.5 per cent DoD). Traded value increased by 6.1 per cent to reach US$ 61.9 million as against US$ 58.3 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include FFLR1, TPLP, WTL, BYCO and FNEL.
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Weekly Review: Saudi support may keep market positive
KARACHI: The stock market is likely to stay positive during next week owing to the expected transfer of $3 billion from Saudi Arabia.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market to show positivity in the upcoming week is attributable to support from Saudi Arabia in terms of safe deposits of $3 billion in the upcoming week which will release pressure off of foreign exchange reserves, the slowdown in international oil prices which will alleviate inflationary pressure, and end of roll-over week.
However, the last date of MSCI rebalancing on November 30, 2021 might trigger foreign selling, current macro-economic concerns like rising imports, higher inflationary reading due to increasing prices of commodities, and pressure on currency could keep the market range-bound.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 4.5x (2021) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 15.0x while offering a dividend yield of 8.5 per cent versus 2.2 per cent offered by the region.
This week trading activity remained chaotic and gloomy with 2,375 points (5.11 per cent WoW; Highest weekly decline after 27th Mar’20) being eroded from the KSE-100 index which closed at 44,114 points this week.
The decline is attributable to i) State Bank of Pakistan increasing policy rate by 150 basis points to 8.75 per cent, ii) alarming current account deficit which increased to USD 5.1 billion in 4MFY21, iii) beginning of the roll-over week, iv) net selling from foreigners amid a transition from Emerging Market to the Frontier Market and v) decline in foreign exchange reserves putting pressure on PKR parity. Moreover, the announcement of a staff-level agreement with IMF failed to rejuvenate investors’ sentiments. Albeit, the index rebounded amid i) end of petroleum dealers strike post agreement with the government to increase margins, ii) news of Saudi inflow of USD 3bn expected next week, and iii) nosedive in international oil prices which might be a breather for the economy.
Contribution to the downside was led by i) Cements (462 points), ii) Commercial Banks (326 points), iii) Technology and Communication (290 points), iv) Fertilizer (270 points), and v) Oil & Gas Exploration (252 points). Scrip-wise major losers were LUCK (205 points), TRG (177 points), HBL (114 points), PPL (98 points), and ENGRO (95 points).
Foreigners offloaded stocks worth of USD 39.1 million compared to a net sell of USD 25.0 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in Commercial Banks (USD 15.7 million) and Fertilizer (USD 6.3 million). On the local front, buying was reported by Individuals (USD 16.0 million) followed by Companies (USD 13.3 million). That said, average daily volumes and traded value for the outgoing week were up by 8 per cent and 13 per cent to 264 million shares and USD 60 million, respectively.
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Tarin launches first professional clearing member
KARACHI: Shaukat Tarin, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, on Friday inaugurated the first Professional Clearing Member (PCM) at CDC House, Karachi.
Speaking at the occasion, Shaukat Tarin said: “It is the top priority of our Government to facilitate businesses and improve ease of doing business environment.
“This initiative of Professional Clearing Member (PCM) is a very significant and timely initiative by SECP and very well executed by CDC. It is very important for our Capital market that we introduce such novel concepts which will bring more transparency and efficiency in our market.
“CDC has won the trust and confidence of the investors, Regulator and all stakeholders in the market with its efforts of market development and investor facilitation.
“The new PCM regime has been successfully implemented after the introduction of the relevant regulatory framework by SECP and capital market infrastructure entities, leading to the launch of EClear Services Limited (ESL) by i.e. CDC, PSX, NCCPL and Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company, with CDC playing the lead role of the project manager.”
Speaking at the occasion, the SECP Chairman, Aamir Khan said that “The PCM regime shall address two longstanding issues: risk of custody defaults by transferring custody to the PCM, and expanding the retail investor base by empowering small brokers.”
Tariq Rafi, member of CDC’s Board of Directors, welcomed Tarin and others guests after which Chairman CDC Moin Fudda addressed the audience. CEO CDC Badiuddin Akber presented a brief presentation to the audience explaining the working and benefits of the Professional Clearing Member.
He mentioned: “The solution will provide investors with a completely new and digital experience of Pakistan’s capital market while giving them the confidence of asset protection by a reliable and independent third party service provider.”
The event was well attended by Capital market representatives including Chairperson PSX – Dr. Shamshad Akhtar and CEO PSX – Farrukh Khan.
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Bulls return to stock market ending 4-day losing streak
KARACHI: Bulls return to the stock market which gained 178 points on Friday ending a 4-day losing streak. The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 44,114 points against 43,936 points showing an increase of 178.4 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the battle between bulls and bears was conquered by the bulls in the last trading hour.
The market opened with positive momentum as investors perceived that the last leg of the foreign selling spree was completed on the last trading day.
The forecast of investors failed as foreign selling continued and led the market back to red territory.
Activity continued to remain side-ways as the market witnessed hefty volumes in the 3rd tier stocks.
On the flip-side, In the second session, institutional buyers started fetching value stocks due to attractive multiples which led the market to close in the green zone.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Commercial Banks (+74 points), Power (+53 points), Fertilizer (+48 points), Cement (+34 points), and Pharmaceuticals (+15 points).
Volumes increased from 195.2 million shares to 289.8 million shares (+48.5 per cent DoD). Traded value also increased by 22.4 per cent to reach US$ 58.5 million as against US$ 47.8 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, TPLP, BYCO, HUMNL and MODAMR.