Category: Stock & Commodity

  • Stock market gains 445 points as positive sentiments prevail

    Stock market gains 445 points as positive sentiments prevail

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 445 points on Friday as positive sentiments prevailed during the trading.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,798 points as against 40,354 points showing an increase of 445 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened on a positive note today, and after dipping 46 points earlier in the session, the index rebounded with the same vigor as observed in the past 2 sessions.

    Overall, the Index posted an increase of 2230 points since the recent bottom touched on October 6, 2020. Banking and E&P sectors performed well on the back of quarterly earnings as well as an increase in international crude oil prices.

    Among scrips, HASCOL led the volumes with 53.9 million shares, followed by UNITY (34.9 million) and TRG (21.4 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+136 points), E&P (+88 points), Power (+44 points), Textile (+35 points), Autos (+35 points).

    Volumes declined from 476.8 million shares to 358.8 million shares (-25 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 24 percent to reach US$ 72.8 million as against US$ 96.2 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, UNITY, TRG, BOP and WTL, which formed 39 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HBL (+64 points), HUBC (+47 points), OGDC (+31 points), PPL (+29 points) and TRG (+27 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PAKT (-14 points), HASCOL (-12 points), KEL (-5 points), NESTLE (-5 points) and ABOT (-4 points).

  • Agha Steel’s IPO receives overwhelming response

    Agha Steel’s IPO receives overwhelming response

    KARACHI: The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Agha Steel has received overwhelming response from investors as it was oversubscribed at the book building phase on Wednesday.

    The IPO received an overwhelming response from institutional investors and high net worth individuals as the strike price clocked in at Rs32 per share, higher than the floor price of Rs30, a statement said.

    The book-building phase of the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of Agha Steel concluded with investors oversubscribing it by as much as 1.63 times.

    This means Agha Steel is going to raise Rs3.8 billion in total, making it the largest IPO in the steel sector and the second-largest IPO in the private sector.

    Brokers and investment advisory firms had issued almost unanimous calls to ‘subscribe,’ which resulted in investor demand amounting to Rs4.4 billion against the IPO’s book-building size of Rs2.7 billion.

    The general public will subscribe to the remaining 30 million shares (25 percent of the total offer size) on Oct 14-15 at the strike price of Rs32.

    The company will use IPO proceeds to finance the expansion of its re-rolling capacity from 250,000 metric tons to 650,000 MT. It will increase the reinforcing bar production capacity by 160 per cent.

    Brokerage houses anticipate steady growth in the company’s bottom line owing to a substantial rise in construction activities across the country. The main product of Agha Steel is reinforcing bars that are used in the construction of megastructures, roads, bridges, skyscrapers and homes.

    In a research report last week, AL Habib Capital Markets stated that it expected the share price of Agha Steel to hover around Rs57 by June 2022. The target prices stated by Pearl Securities and KASB Securities are Rs50 and Rs42, respectively.

    In a message on social media, Agha Steel CEO Hussain Iqbal Agha expressed his gratitude to investors and their historic overwhelming response. He vowed to ensure growth of their shareholders’ equity.

  • Stock market rebounds with 723 points on buying activities

    Stock market rebounds with 723 points on buying activities

    KARACHI: The stock market rebounded on Wednesday and gained 723 points as significant buying activities seen during the day.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 39,850 points as against 39,127 points showing an increase of 723 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market finally made a positive move today, which was jittery in the beginning but solidified by mid-day to post a total gain of 793 points and closing the index +723 points.

    Buying activity was observed across the board but had major impact on Cement sector, especially DGKC and LUCK. SBP’s notification to transfer Federal government related deposits in part from commercial banking system to SBP caused selling pressure in BOP and NBP.

    A number of mid-cap stocks (usually traded in high volumes) like UNITY, TRG and HASCOL traded at and near upper circuits in the later part of the session.

    The rebound in Index is among other reasons also attributed to adjustment / settlement of CGT lately demanded by NCCPL from Investors which had negative impact on investor sentiment. Among scrips, HASCOL topped the volumes with 59.7 million shares, followed by UNITY (34.5 million) and TRG (23.9 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (+133 points), Pharma (+74 points), O&GMCs (+66 points), Technology (+65 points) and Banks (+58 points).

    Volumes increased from 406 million shares to 432.0 million shares (+6 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 9 percent to reach US$ 82.5 million as against US$ 75.4 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, UNITY, TRG, FFL and POWER, which formed 36 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include LUCK (+46 points), SEARL (+39 points), TRG (+32 points), ENGRO (+32 points) and MCB (+27 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include NBP (-16 points), PMPK (-7 points), HGFA (-4 points), FFC (-4 points) and HMB (-3 points).

  • Stock market gains 55 points amid selling pressure

    Stock market gains 55 points amid selling pressure

    KARACHI: The stock market posted a gain of 55 points on Tuesday, recovering from a significant fall earlier in the day. The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 39,127 points, up from 39,072 points, marking an increase of 55 points.

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  • MoU signed for digital platform to support Mutual Fund Industry

    MoU signed for digital platform to support Mutual Fund Industry

    The Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan (MUFAP) and the Central Depository Company (CDC) of Pakistan Limited, through its subsidiary ITMinds Limited, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and implement a state-of-the-art digital platform.

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  • Share market plunges by around 1000 points on rising political uncertainty

    Share market plunges by around 1000 points on rising political uncertainty

    KARACHI: The share market fell by around 1,000 points on Monday due to increase in headline inflation and rising uncertainty on political front.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 39,072 points as against 40,070 points showing a decline of 998 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market lost another 1206 points during the session, especially in the last half hour of trading.

    Over the weekend, release of CPI data hinted an increase in Policy rate as the negative real interests have increased post increase in CPI.

    Political uncertainty, on the other hand, has also caused panic amongst Investors.

    Gradual redemptions from Mutual Fund investors have so far resulted in market meltdown, however, non-blue chip stocks as well as off-board scrips have sustained heavy losses in terms of drop in prices as compared to blue chip stocks from their recent highs.

    Selling activity was observed almost across the board, with major contribution from E&P, Banks, O&GMCs sectors. Amongst scrips, HASCOL topped the volumes with 60.4 million shares, followed by UNITY (31.9 million) and KEL (29.1 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-130 points), Power (-113 points), Fertilizer (-111 points), E&P (-103 points) and O&GMCs (-71 points).

    Volumes increased from 348.6 million shares to 409.9 million shares (+18 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 1 percent to reach US$ 76.5 million as against US$ 75.6 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, UNITY, KEL, TRG and PIBTL, which formed 39 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include DAWH (+8 points), GHGL (+4 points), KOHC (+1 points), FML (+1 points) and ATLH (+0 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-74 points), ENGRO (-56 points), PPL (-50 points), TRG (-36 points) and COLG (-32 points).

  • Weekly Review: Turmoil in international markets likely to suppress domestic bourse

    Weekly Review: Turmoil in international markets likely to suppress domestic bourse

    KARACHI: The share market likely to remain under pressure due to turmoil in international markets, analysts said. Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that with economic indicators continuing to show improvement, they expect the profit-taking to be short-lived.

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  • Stock markets decline by 606 points on political uncertainty, coronavirus

    Stock markets decline by 606 points on political uncertainty, coronavirus

    KARACHI: The stock market fell by 606 points on Friday owing to political uncertainty and spread of coronavirus.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,070 points as against 40,677 points showing a decline of 606 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market saw continuation of selling pressure for a host of reasons from political uncertainty to spread of Corona cases (with the latest affectee being President Trump himself).

    The index lost a total of 771 points during the session and closed the session -606 points. International crude oil prices dropped significantly, especially after announcement of President Trump’s being tested positive for Corona.

    This caused selling in local E&P stocks, OGDC, PPL and POL. At the same time, redemptions in Mutual Funds prompted institutional sell-off as well.

    Volumes remained heavily tilted in favour of O&GMCs, particularly HASCOL, however, the stock price saw lower circuit among other tech stocks that saw sky high prices in the previous run-up. HASCOL topped the volumes with 52.6 million shares, followed by KEL (35.1 million) and TRG (24.6 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-135 points), O&GMCs (-78 points), Banks (-71 points), Cement (-57 points) and Technology (-55 points).

    Volumes declined further from 371.8 million shares to 348.6 million shares (-6 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 0.6 percent to reach US$ 75.6 million as against US$ 76 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, KEL, TRG, UNITY and PIBTL, which formed 44 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HUBC (+16 points), BAHL (+16 points), ILP (+4 points), HCAR (+4 points) and AGIL (+3 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PPL (-51 points), OGDC (-45 points), TRG (-36 points), POL (-33 points) and PSO (-30 points).

  • Share market gains 105 points amid profit taking

    Share market gains 105 points amid profit taking

    KARACHI: The share market gained 105 points on Thursday as selling pressure continued and investors opted for profit taking.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,676 points as against 40,571 points showing an increase of 105 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the selling pressure continued unabated today, which saw Index slipping another 458 points during the session, however, sporadic buying in blue chip stocks especially Cement sector and otherwise HBL & UBL among Banks and PSO in O&GMCs brought the index back into positive.

    Last half hour saw index posting gain of 110 points. Past sessions have seen the effect of redemptions from mutual fund investors to cause havoc in otherwise calm market.

     Market has lost roughly 2000 points from its recent highs and in the process has brought attrition in Cement, Steel and banking sector scrips. Among scrips, HASCOL topped the volumes with 67.6 million shares, followed by KEL (28.8 million) and UNITY (26 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+94 points), Cement (+51 points), Chemical (+20 points), E&P (+16 points) and Technology (-25 points).

    Volumes declined further from 473.8 million shares to 371.7 million shares (-22 percent DoD). Average traded value also dropped by 19 percent to reach US$ 75.8 million as against US$ 93.2 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, KEL, UNITY, TRG and PIBTL, which formed 43 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HBL (+30 points), MCB (+30 points), UBL (+28 points), DGKC (+25 points) and ENGRO (+19 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include TRG (-21 points), HASCOL (-20 points), MEBL (-18 points), BAHL (-9 points) and HUBC (-9 points).

  • Stock market ends down by 633 points on political noise

    Stock market ends down by 633 points on political noise

    KARACHI: The stock market fell by 633 points on Wednesday owing to selling pressure observed during the day due to political noise and pressure in international markets.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,571 points as against 41,204 points, showing a decline of 633 points.

    Analysts at Topline Securities said that lackluster activity was observed during the initial hours of trade, however market came under pressure during the latter hours of trade to close at 40,571 level.

    Pressure in the market can largely be attributed to selling pressure in international markets along with political noise.

    Major contribution to the index came from UBL, HUBC, ENGRO, TRG and OGDC, as they cumulatively contributed 193 points to the index.

    HASCOL was today`s volume leader with around 87 million shares; notice to the exchange from the company disclosing that an executive of the company has sold 8.7 million shares triggered selling in the oil marketing company, as the scrip closed 7 percent lower.