Category: Stock & Commodity

KARACHI: The stock market likely to move positive during next week on hope of resumption of IMF program.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market to move positive as we get closer to resuming the IMF program and receiving a $1 billion tranche.

Whereas recent bouts of selling at the index has once again opened up valuations; we advise investors to cherry-pick blue chip stocks with a long term focus, they said.

Key short term risks include: regional volatility and the ensuing security concerns, together with PKR depreciation.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 5.2x (2021) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 14.7x while offering a dividend yield of 8.1 per cent versus 2.2 per cent offered by the region.

The benchmark equity bourse closed in green after four weeks of bleeding. During the early part of the week investors resorted to panic selling amid lack of clarity on continuation of the IMF package as well as delay in the process to appoint a new Director General of the ISI (DG ISI).

Albeit, with Finance Minister assuring that the government would soon address concerns of the global lender and resume the IMF’s EFF, as well as PM’s statement allaying any rumors of a military-political divide, the KSE-100 index posted two swift back to back bull runs. The market closed at 44,821 points, (gaining 344 points / up by 0.8 per cent WoW).

Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Commercial Banks (393 points), ii) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (136 points), iii) Fertilizer (123 points), iv) Cement (98 points), and v) Pharmaceuticals (28 points). Whereas, sectors which contributed negatively were i) Technology & Communication (342 points), and ii) Food & Personal Care Products (50 points). Scrip-wise positive contributors were HBL (153 points), PPL (87 points), UBL (67 points), LUCK (59 points) and OGDC (42 points). Meanwhile, scrip-wise negative contribution came from TRG (260 points), SYS (70 points) and PAKT (27 points).

Foreign selling continued this week, clocking-in at USD 13.3 million compared to a net sell of USD 3.7 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in Fertilizer Sectors (USD 12.1 million), Commercial Banks (USD 7.8 million) and Cement (USD 3.11 million). On the local front, buying was reported by Insurance Companies (USD 12.2 million) followed by Mutual Funds (USD 3.4 million). Average volumes clocked-in at 342 million shares (up by 29 per cent WoW) while average value traded settled at USD 71 million (up by 20 per cent WoW).

Stocks gain 488 points on positive sentiments

KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday fell by 648 points owing to rising concerns over hike in electricity prices and contraction in economy.

The index closed at 43,829 points as against last Friday’s closing of 44,477 points, showing a decline of 648 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market tumbled again on concerns over high energy and commodity prices as well as prospects of further electricity tariff hikes that can lead to erosion of purchasing power and an economic contraction.

Increase in international oil prices failed to have a material impact on the stock prices of E&P stocks. Selling pressure was witnessed across the board, however, Technology, Cement, O&GMCs contributed to downward trend.

Among scrips, WTL led the table with 41.3 million shares, followed by TELE (13.8 million) and TREET (9.4 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Technology (-202 points), Cement (-121 points), Banks (-56 points), Engineering (-49 points) and O&GMCs (-36 points).

Volumes increased from 176.1 million shares to 226.6 million shares (+29 per cent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 21 per cent to reach US$ 48.4 million as against US$ 40 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, TELE, TREET, HUMNL and TRG, which formed 35 per cent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include PPL (+21 points), COLG (+9 points), HUBC (+8 points), ABL (+7 points) and FML (+7 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include TRG (-119 points), SYS (-68 points), LUCK (-26 points), FFC (-25 points) and UNITY (-25 points).

Weekly Review: high imports, prices likely concerns

KARACHI: The stock market likely to stay range bound during the next week owing to concerns including high imports and inflation.

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KARACHI: The share market fell by 293 points on Wednesday as selling pressure remained unabated during the day. The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 44,373 points as against previous day’s closing of 44,667 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that selling pressure continued unabated at the bourse, courtesy of foreign investors.

Eye watering commodity prices, especially Coal, have had their bearing on Cement and Steel sector stocks and had ripple effects on O&GMCs, E&P sectors due to concerns over potential increase in circular debt emanate from rising energy costs.

A key conditionality from IMF for resumption of program has been upward revision in electricity tariff, besides an end to subsidies and increase in tax revenues.

These measures in part or whole are expected to dent earnings growth of the corporate sector in the coming quarters, which is reflecting on stock prices as well.

Ripple effects of selling in cyclical as well as oil & gas chain are observed in overall market with significant selling pressure in TRG among tech sector stocks. Among scrips, UNITY led the volumes with 25.7 million shares, followed by TELE (20.1 million) and WTL (16.8 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-91 points), Textile (-36 points), Banks (-35 points), Technology (-30 points), Fertilizer (-24 points) and E&P (+36 points).

Volumes declined from 334.6 million shares to 252.8 million shares (-25 per cent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 26 per cent to reach US$ 59.0 million as against US$ 79.2 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, TELE, WTL, TREET and BYCO, which formed 35 per cent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include MARI (+43 points), UBL (+22 points), MTL (+8 points), COLG (+5 points) and NATF (+4 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HBL (-28 points), CHCC (-24 points), KTML (-20 points), LUCK (-19 points) and ENGRO (-16 points).

Share market sheds 378 points on exchange rate

KARACHI: The share market plunged by 378 points on Tuesday owing to rising concerns over the exchange rate and rupee depreciation.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 44,667 points as against the previous day’s close of 45,044 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that market lost further ground today by shedding 451 points during the session and closing -378 points.

Discussions with IMF are still ongoing with the hope of near-term resolution and resumption of the IMF program. Besides IMF program worries, continued pressure on PKR parity with USD has also caused concern amongst investors, especially foreigners who have lately started selling PK equities.

Among technology stocks, Octopus hit the upper circuit, whereas other tech stocks remained under pressure, especially TRG which saw selling pressure despite anticipation of high earnings.

Among scrips, TELE topped the volumes with 30.3 million shares, followed by ANL (19.5 million) and GGL (18.5 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-170 points), Technology (-99 points), Fertilizer (-45 points), Banks (-23 points) and O&GMCs (-17 points).

Volumes increased from 267.2 million shares to 334.7 million shares (+25 per cent DoD). The average traded value also increased by 34 per cent to reach US$ 79.3 million as against US$ 59.1 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TELE, ANL, GGL, WTL and BYCO, which formed 30 per cent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include MARI (+74 points), UBL (+19 points), HUBC (+18 points), PSEL (+13 points) and EPCL (+11 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include LUCK (-66 points), TRG (-65 points), OGDC (-34 points), SYS (-27 points) and MLCF (-24 points).

KSE-100 index gains 173 points in mixed trading