Category: Stock & Commodity

  • Weekly Review: market likely maintain buoyancy

    Weekly Review: market likely maintain buoyancy

    KARACHI: The stock market likely to maintain upward trend as many corporate entities set to declare better results.

    Analysts at Arif Habib said that with commencement of the result season certain sectors / scrips may come under limelight in the upcoming week.

    Although pre-Eid jitters cannot be ruled out amid profit-taking at current levels. However, funds continue to flow in the bourse and economic activity shows signs of revival.

    Hence, our long term stance on the market remains positive.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 6.9x (2021) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 13.1x and while offering DY of ~6.7 percent versus ~2.7 percent offered by the region.

    The outgoing session marks end of a fifth consecutive positive week at the KSE-100 index.

    Although the rally lost stream mid-week amid profit taking and selling pressure from individuals, the bourse moved up 276 points WoW to close at 37,608points.

    To recall, sentiments have been rejoiced by several rate cuts by the SBP (625bps in total) which have once again brought equities to the forefront as the preferred asset class, while improvement in the domestic COVID-19 recovery rate, end of lockdown as well as reinstatement of pre-corona market hours aided volumes and attracted investment in the market.

    Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Commercial Banks (253 points), ii) Power generation and distribution (76 points), iii) Automobile Assembler (31 points), iv) Textile composite (28 points), and v) Technology and communication (17 points).

    Whereas negative contributions came from i) Cements (60 points), Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (38 points), and Chemical (19 points). Scrip-wise positive contributions were led by HBL (128 points), MCB (64 points), HUBC (58 points), BAHL (35 points), and MTL (31 points).

    Foreign selling continued this week clocking-in at USD 9.3 million compared to a net sell of USD 27.4 million last week.

    Selling was witnessed in Commercial Banks (USD 2.9 million) and E&P (USD 1.7 million). On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Companies (USD 7.3 million and Insurance Companies (USD 7.0 million).

    Average volumes settled at 413 million shares (down by 3 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 97 million (down by 2 percent WoW).

  • PSX to collect 3pc income tax on payments to non-residents

    PSX to collect 3pc income tax on payments to non-residents

    The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has been mandated to apply a reduced rate of three percent income tax on payments to non-residents, according to officials from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

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  • Stock market recovers early day losses on above expectation result of HBL

    Stock market recovers early day losses on above expectation result of HBL

    The stock market gained 29 points on Friday, recovering from earlier losses of 319 points, thanks to the strong performance of Habib Bank Limited (HBL).

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  • Stock market falls by 226 points on selling pressure

    Stock market falls by 226 points on selling pressure

    KARACHI: The stock market witnessed decline of 226 points on Thursday owing to selling pressure prevailed during the day.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,578 points as against 37,804 points showing a decline of 226 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market had an exciting session, which resulted in quite some fluctuation between positive and negative throughout the day and closed the session -226 points.

    Selling pressure was mainly observed in Cement, Steel, Pharma, OMCs etc. which caused the market to plunge.

    Banking sector stocks, MCB, HBL, UBL saw buying activity that helped Index balance a bit, however, selling pressure eroded the gains posted by Banking sector stocks.

    During the session, market went up by 302 points but lost these gains and declined by 264 points. Textile sector led the volumes with 41.4 million shares, followed by Vanaspati (38.1 million) and Technology (34.1 million).

    Among scrips, UNITY topped the volumes with 38.1 million shares, followed by ANL (31.2 million) and FFL (23.4 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+21 points), Inv Banks (+12 points), Cement (-116 points), Power (-36 points), E&P (-30 points), O&GMCs (-24 points), Pharma (-22 points).

    Volumes declined from 405.5 million shares to 379.3 million shares (-6 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 21 percent to reach US$ 84.0 million as against US$ 106.2 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, ANL, FFL, KEL and HASCOL, which formed 35 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include MTL (+19 points), MCB (+18 points), DAWH (+14 points), INDU (+9 points) and UBL (+8 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include LUCK (-55 points), HUBC (-36 points), PPL (-25 points), ENGRO (-15 points), and DGKC (-14 points).

  • Stock market gains 104 points amid selling pressure

    Stock market gains 104 points amid selling pressure

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 104 points on Wednesday amid profit booking in scripts of many sectors.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,805 points as against 37,700 points showing an increase of 104 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded in a similar fashion as yesterday, whereby cement, fertilizer, banks saw profit booking / selling pressure, which was counterweighed by index heavy weights HUBC, ENGRO.

    Today MCB, HBL and Cement sector stocks (particularly LUCK) saved the day. ECC’s approval of Funds for construction sector gave Cement sector the reason to trade.

    International crude oil prices increased over the day, which helped E&P stocks staged recovery. Cement sector topped the volumes with 59.8 million shares, followed by O&GMCs (46.6 million) and Technology (40.2 million).

    Among scrips, HASCOL realized trading volumes of 21.2 million, followed by UNITY (20 million) and AGL (19.2 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (+79 points), Autos (+40 points), O&GMCs (+26 points), E&P (+20 points), Power (-37 points), Fertilizer (-25 points) and Insurance (-15 points).

    Volumes declined from 457.2 million shares to 405.5 million shares (-11 percent DoD). Average trade value also declined by 9 percent to reach US$ 106.2 million as against US$ 116.5 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, UNITY, AGL, FCCL and MLCF, which formed 24 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include LUCK (+71 points), MTL (+28 points), PSO (+18 points), MCB (+16 points) and HBL (+14 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-35 points), UBL (-34 points), ENGRO (-16 points), TRG (-11 points), and EFUG (-8 points).

  • Capital gain tax to be collected on July 30: NCCPL

    Capital gain tax to be collected on July 30: NCCPL

    KARACHI: National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) on Wednesday announced to collect capital gain tax for month of June 2020 on July 30, 2020.

    The NCCPL in a statement said that the aggregate amount of CGT arising on disposal of shares at Pakistan Stock Exchange for the period June 01, 2020 to June 30, 2020, would be collected on Thursday July 30, 2020 through respective settling banks of the clearing members, along with refund or adjustments on the basis of amount collected up to previous month.

    All Clearing Members are advised to ensure requisite amount in their respective settling bank’s account.

    Necessary details and reports for the said period have already been made available in the CGT System, the NCCPL said.

    Further, the aggregate amount of CGT arising on trading of future commodity contracts at Pakistan Mercantile Exchange for the period June 01, 2020 to June 30, 2020, would also be collected from the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange on Thursday July 30, 2020. Necessary details and reports for the said period have already been made available.

    Moreover, the aggregate amount of CGT arising on redemption of units of open end mutual funds have also been finalized for the period June 01, 2020 to June 30, 2020. Necessary details and reports have already been made available in the CGT System.

    The NCCPL further said that consequent to amendments introduced in section 37 A pertaining to adjustment of carry forward of losses for three years, net capital gains as on June 30, 2020 has been adjusted with net capital loss as on June 30, 2019 and accordingly any CGT collected thereon if any, shall be refunded/adjusted.

  • Equity market gains 50 points in range bound trading

    Equity market gains 50 points in range bound trading

    The equity market in Pakistan witnessed a modest gain of 50 points on Tuesday, characterized by mixed trading activities throughout the day. The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange closed at 37,700 points, exhibiting an increase from the previous closing level of 37,651 points.

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  • Stock market gains 320 points amid activities in cement, power sectors

    Stock market gains 320 points amid activities in cement, power sectors

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 320 points on Monday as activities were seen in cement and power sector, analysts said.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,651 points as against 37,331 points showing an increase of 320 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the benchmark index made yet another recent time high with one of the highest volumes, all courtesy of cement and power sectors.

    Market opened on a positive note today with +158 points and gained a total of 410 points, closing the session +320 points. Last 10 days of the month has a scheduled meeting of SBP to decide monetary policy stance with an anticipation of further rate cut.

    Cement sector continued the momentum with highest volumes on the bourse, totaling 83.2 million shares, followed by Technology (68.2 million) and Engineering (48.4 million). Among scrips, HASCOL topped the volumes with 32.5 million shares, followed by TRG (27.5 million) and MLCF (23 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Power (+72 points), Cement (+47 points), E&P (+27 points), Textile (+26 points) and Engineering (+24 points).

    Volumes increased from 466 million shares to 553.8 million shares (+19 percent DoD0. Average traded value also increased by 23 percent to reach US$ 116.0 million as against US$ 94.1 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, TRG, MLCF, FCCL and LOTCHEM, which formed 22 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HUBC (+56 points), FCCL (+24 points), TRG (+19 points), KAPCO (+15 points) and LUCK (+14 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include ENGRO (-12 points), PAKT (-11 points), UBL (-9 points), HMB (-8 points), and NESTLE (-7 points).

  • Weekly Review: market likely trade in green on housing sector activity

    Weekly Review: market likely trade in green on housing sector activity

    KARACHI: The stock market likely to trade in green owing to expected rise in demand of cement and steel in the wake of incentive provided to housing sector.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market to remain green especially cyclical sectors to remain in the limelight including cements and steel due to government focusing on reviving economic activity through housing and construction sector.

    That said, continuous slowdown in Covid-19 cases on daily basis is further improving investors’ confidence.

    The benchmark KSE-100 of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 8.1x (2020) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 13.1x while offering a dividend yield of ~6.0 percent versus ~2.7 percent offered by the region.

    The market commenced on a positive note, continuing the rally being witnessed since the last three weeks.

    During the mid-week, 13 days winning streak came to an end as the index slipped by 66 points on account of profit taking.

    Optimism in the bourse was sourced from: i) Capital injection from local investors as equities are being viewed as the preferred asset class, ii) Government planning to build low cost subsidized houses which rejuvenated investors’ interest in the cement sector, iii) State Bank of Pakistan has asked all commercial banks to allocate five percent of their portfolio to construction sector, again attracting interest in cements and iv) PM inaugurated construction works at Diamer Bhasha Dam that will increase demand for Cements and Steel.

    Likewise, Commercial Banks performed well due to expectation of improved earnings in the upcoming results.

    As a result, the KSE-100 index closed at 37,331 points, up by 1,140 points or 3.15 percent WoW.

    Contribution to the upside was led by i) Cements (213 points), ii) Oil and Gas Exploration Companies (196 points), iii) Fertilizer (149 points), iv) Automobile Assembler (91 points), and v) Commercial Banks (55 points). Scrip wise major gainers were LUCK (85 points), POL (78 points), DAWH (77 points), PPL (75 points), and INDU (63 points). Whereas, scrip wise major losers were BAFL (13 points), NBP (9 points) ABOT (8 points), SYS (8 points) and COLG (7 points).

    Foreigners offloaded stocks worth of USD 27.37 million compared to a net sell of USD 9.46 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in E&P (USD 20.40 million) and Fertilizer (USD 2.61 million). On the local front, buying was reported by Individuals (USD 15.93 million) followed by Insurance Co. (USD 14.29 million). That said, average daily volumes and traded value for the outgoing week were up by 22 percent and 34 percent to 426 million shares and USD 99.3 million, respectively.

  • SECP proposes amendments to insurance laws

    SECP proposes amendments to insurance laws

    ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has issued draft bill to amend Insurance Ordinance 2000 with aim to bridge regulatory gaps in existing laws.

    The draft law has been placed on SECP’s website for stakeholders and public consultation.

    The draft bill will address the regulatory gaps in existing law and provide a conducive regulatory environment to encourage market development, the SECP said.

    It will facilitate use of technology, provide ease of doing business and address entity specific and systemic risks by shifting towards Risk Based Supervision (RBS) and Risk Based Capital (RBC) Regime, it added.

    The amendments in law will also strengthen the regulatory framework and ensure its alignment with the Insurance Core Principles (ICP) of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

    The significant reforms proposed in the draft bill include introduction of dedicated micro-insurers, provisions for regulation of takaful and re-takaful, regulation of local and foreign reinsurance business for enhancement of local capacity, regulation of reinsurance brokers, flexibility for introduction of new intermediaries, insurance repository and insurance self-network platform, provisions for regulation of index based insurance and InsurTech.

    Provisions for introduction of RBS and RBC regime and establishment and operation of a guarantee fund for insolvency of insurers have been included to strengthen the regulatory framework and align the law with core principles of IAIS and address systemic risk.

    The amended law will also assist in enhancing compliance with AML/CFT frameworks.

    The changes include requirement of appointed actuary and product filing of personal lines for non-life insurance, appointment of internal actuary for life insurers and enhancement of market conduct provisions.

    The regulatory powers of the Commission for regulation and supervision of insurance companies and intermediaries, have also been streamlined in the draft bill.