Category: Stock & Commodity

KARACHI: The stock market may be in positive zone during next week as the government prepares to ease off lockdown in the country, analysts at Arif Habib Limited said.

Moreover, loan disbursement from IMF of $1.4 billion next week will also relieve fiscal pressures and set in motion aggressive measures to counter any economic fallout amidst corona.

In addition, with the construction sector resuming operations from April 14, 2020, cement and steel are expected remain in limelight.

Whereas with global demand curtailment owing to corona exceeding oil output cut by various countries, we believe oil prices may remain range-bound.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 5.8x (2020) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 10.2x and while offering DY of ~8.7 percent versus ~3.1 percent offered by the region.

The KSE-100 index opened up on a positive note on Monday morning, given announcement of a construction package by PM Khan on the last day of the prior week. Albeit, momentum could not sustain and the sentiment quickly turned negative over expectations of economic slowdown by the Asian Development Bank and World Bank followed by increase in new COVID-19 cases (18 percent DoD on Monday).

Bulls returned the following day after crude oil prices went up in anticipation of agreement over significant cut in oil production by OPEC+ followed by possibility of an energy sukuk issuance.

Furthermore, FATF extended Pakistan’s deadline to meet targets till Sep’20, which kept the trajectory positive. The KSE-100 closed at 32,033 points, gaining 411 points (up by 1.3 percent) WoW.

Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (132 points), ii) Cement (78 points), iii) Fertilizer (71 points), iv) Insurance (70 points) and Power Generation & Distribution (37 points).

Meanwhile, sector-wise negative contribution came from i) Automobile Parts & Accessories (20 points), Tobacco (13 points) and Textile Composite (13 points). Scrip-wise positive contributions were led by OGDC (127 points), BAFL (51 points), HUBC (49 points), FFC (42 points) and DGKC (40 points).

Foreign selling continued this week clocking-in at USD 16.2 million compared to a net sell of USD 36.1 million last week. Selling was witnessed in Commercial Banks (USD 5.9 million) and Cement (USD 2.1 million).

On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Individuals (USD 9.4 million) and Insurance Companies (USD 5.0 million). Average Volumes settled at 186 million shares (down by 18 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 42 million (down by 8 percent WoW).

KARACHI: The share market gained 196 points on Friday despite selling pressure in major scrips.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 32,033 points as against 31.837 points showing an increase of 196 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market saw a drop of 460 points early in the session, which was largely a factor of the crash in oil prices overnight (WTI closing 7.5 percent down from its opening the other day).

Resultantly, oil & gas chain saw selling pressure / profit booking but close of session saw pertinent scrip prices inching up, though still closed red.

Cement sector continued displaying strength on Relief construction package, on the back of which, DGKC and LUCK remained prominent, although by end of session, MLCF also saw buying activity.

Among banking sector stocks, HBL maintained its levels for the past couple of sessions, whereas UBL showed price gains.

Prospects of opening the lockdown by the Provincial governments has so far played in the interest of Cement sector largely.

Cement sector maintained the leadership in trading volumes with 33.3 million shares, followed by O&GMCs (17.1 million) and Power (12.4 million). Among scrips, UNITY topped the chart with 28.7 million shares, followed by HASCOL (25.8 million) and PAEL (14.1 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-103 points), Banks (+105 points), Fertilizer (+51 points), Technology (+24 points), Cement (+22 points) and Pharma (+20 points).

Volumes declined from 216.5 million shares to 127.1 million shares (41 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 41 percent to reach US$ 30 million as against US$ 51 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, KEL, MLCF, DGKC and PAEL, which formed 36 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include BAFL (+34 points), ENGRO (33 points), MCB (+19 points), SNGP (+19 points) and FFC (+18 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include OGDC (-37 points), PPL (-34 points), MARI (-17 points), POL (-15 points), and PAKT (-12 points).

KARACHI: The stock market witnessed increase of 866 points on Thursday on rise in international oil prices and reports of further cut in policy rate.

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KARACHI: The share market fell by 260 points on Wednesday owing to selling pressure seen during the day.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 30,971 points as against 31,231 points showing a decline of 260 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that overnight pressure on international crude prices bore impact on KSE100 as well. With OPEC+ meeting scheduled for tomorrow (PST 7:00 PM), followed by a G20 meeting on Friday, on the same subject, i.e. production cut and management of crude price, local E&P stocks didn’t fell as much as the fall was witnessed in crude prices.

Market traded uni-directional (negative) for the most part of the session with Oil & Gas chain trading red. On the other hand, cyclicals, which had positive sentiments yesterday on the back of partial resumption of activities (primarily in Punjab), today saw selling pressure.

Cement sector, as have been the case for the past several sessions, again topped the volumes with 42.1 million shares, followed by Vanaspati (28.8 million) and O&GMCs (28.4 million).

Among scrips, UNITY (got traction from issuance of SRO on withdrawal of additional custom duty) led the volumes with 28.8 million shares, followed by HASCOL (25.8 million) and PAEL (14.1 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-115 points), E&P (-45 points), Cement (-37 points), Tobacco (-36 points), Fertilizer (-21 points), Insurance (+23 points).

Volumes increased from 172.7 million shares to 181.0 million shares (+5 percent DoD). Average traded value, on the other hand, declined by 13 percent to reach US$ 35.1 million as against US$ 40.2 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, HASCOL, PAEL, MLCF and PIOC, which formed 50 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include MCB (+18 points), IGIHL (9 points), KOHC (+9 points), KAPCO (+8 points) and OGDC (+7 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PAKT (-36 points), LUCK (-32 points), BAFL (-29 points), BAHL (-28 points), and POL (-23 points).

KARACHI: The equity market gained 652 points on Tuesday on positive sentiments of investors regarding early release of IMF supported loan.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 31,232 points as against 30,579 points showing an increase of 652 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened on a positive note with +75 points and 0.8 million shares traded at the opening bell.

The index continued the surge throughout the session, increasing by 724 points during the day and ending the session +709 points.

Expectation of early release of COVID 19 financial assistance from IMF kept the mood elevated at the bourse, which was further aided by an uptrend in international crude prices (which gained another 3 percent over yesterday).

Besides E&P Stocks, Cement and Steel also rallied based on construction package announced last Friday. Cement sector led the volumes with 54.5 million shares, followed by O&GMCs (23.1 million) and Banks (21.4 million).

Among scrips, MLCF topped the charts with 20.4 million shares followed by HASCOL (19.8 million) and FFL (9.8 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+176 points), Cement (+120 points), Banks (+109 points), Power (+73 points) Fertilizer (+44 points).

Volumes declined from 233.3 million shares to 172.7 million shares (-26 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 23 percent to reach US$ 40.4 million as against US$ 52.2 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, HASCOL, FCCL, KEL, and PIOC, which formed 38 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include OGDC (+79 points), PPL (+70 points), HUBC (+69 points), HBL (+64 points) and LUCK (+54 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BAHL (-15 points), NBP (-9 points), THALL (-7 points), JDWS (-4 points), and MUREB (-4 points).

The share market witnessed a significant downturn on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) plunged by 1043 points.

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KARACHI: The stock market likely to maintain bullish trend during the next week owing to tax amnesty announced by the prime minister for construction sector.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the index to continue the rally as investors celebrate the government’s proactive stance to keep the economy afloat during the lockdown.

The government’s incentives package for the construction industry to keep economic activity upbeat should help sustain the positivity in the cement/engineering sector while oil scrips should be dictated by the developments regarding an emergency meeting of OPEC+ called by Saudi Arabia and its outcome.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 5.8x (2020) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 10.2x and while offering DY of around 8.8 percent versus around 3.1 percent offered by the region.

Following a 3-week rout of the KSE-100 Index, the bourse finally rebounded this week with a 12.5 percent return WoW – highest ever weekly return.

Optimism in the bourse was sourced from the federal government announcing a series of measures to mitigate risks to the economy from the COVID-19. Banks and E&P rallied as valuations had reached dirt cheap levels. Towards the end of the week President Trump’s announcement of a possible agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut production sent oil prices soaring (WTI up 18 percent WoW) and thereby E&P stocks.

The KSE-100 closed at 31,622 points (up by 12.5 percent / 3,512 points WoW).

Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Commercial Banks (764 points), ii) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (550 points) and iii) Cement (537 points). Scrip-wise positive contributions were led by HUBC (290 points), LUCK (227 points), and UBL (186 points).

Foreign selling continued this week clocking-in at USD 36.1 million compared to a net sell of USD 13.7 million last week. Selling was witnessed in E&Ps (USD 13.5 million) and Commercial Banks (USD 8.0 million).

On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Individuals (USD 13.0 million) and Funds (USD 10.3 million). Average Volumes settled at 228 million shares (up by 52 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 46 million (up by 66 percent WoW).

KARACHI: The share market continued bullish trend on Friday and gained 839 points, which is mainly attributed to reports on package for construction industry to be announced.

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KARACHI: The equity market witnessed sharp increase of 1,277 points on Thursday owing to jump in international oil prices.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 30,782 points as against 29,506 points showing an increase of 4.3 percent or 1277 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that After yesterday’s pause, Market again witnessed a huge stride of 1336 points, similar to what was observed day before yesterday.

Jump in international crude prices by approx. 10 percent believed to have given the impetus that the market saw today, which saw OGDC, PPL and POL trading at and near cap for most part of the trading session.

Institutional buying further boosted the sentiment amid the possibility of announcement of a relief package for construction industry that is likely to be made by the Premier tomorrow.

In anticipation, Construction sectors (Cement & Steel) rallied and hit upper circuits. Cement sector topped the charts again with 64 million shares, followed by O&GMCs (37.4 million) and Banks (+33.5 million).

Among scrips, HASCOL led the volumes with 29.5 million shares, followed by KEL (20.6 million) and UNITY (19 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+328 points), E&P (+258 points), Cement (+160 points), Power (+100 points) and O&GMCs (+93 points).

Volumes declined from 193.8 million shares to 311.6 million shares (+61 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 55 percent to reach US$ 62.3 million as against US$ 40.1 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include HASCOL, KEL, UNITY, MLCF and BOP, which formed 32 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include OGDC (+81 points), PPL (+80 points), LUCK (+78 points), HUBC (+70 points) and HBL (+68 points).

Stocks that contributed negatively include PAKT (-11 points), COLG (-9 points), FFC (-9 points), HGFA (-5 points), and NESTLE (-1 points).