Category: Stock & Commodity

  • Weekly Review: Sentiments to remain positive on improved economic indicators

    Weekly Review: Sentiments to remain positive on improved economic indicators

    KARACHI: The stock market likely to remain positive during the next week owing to rising foreign investment in debt securities.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that market to remain positive in the upcoming week.

    As per expectation, policy rate remained unchanged at 13.25 percent. With current account deficit turning surplus at USD 99 million in October 2019 and foreign reserves rising amid investment in T-Bills (reaching USD 1bn) from July 2019 to date, positive sentiments are expected to persist.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) index is currently trading at a PER of 6.5x (2020) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 13.5x and while offering DY of ~8.4 percent versus ~2.6 percent offered by the region.

    The market commenced on positive note this week, breaching 38,000 points level (last witnessed in April’19), amid continued confidence in business climate.

    Furthermore, IMF approved issue of sovereign guarantees worth Rs250 billion for tackling circular debt which improved sentiment in the power sector.

    However, during the week bears briefly rushed in amid profit taking, implementation of axle load policy and higher inflationary readings causing concerns over delay in SBP’s policy rate cut.

    Albeit, the fear was temporary as as steep rally was witnessed as the week closed on Friday.

    That said, the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 342 points (up by 0.9 percent) WoW, settling at 37,926 points.

    Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Power Generation & Distribution (140 points), ii) Fertilizer (102 points), and iii) Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (66 points) while negative contributions were led by i) Commercial Banks (74 points), ii) Transport (15 points) and iii) Refinery (11 points). Scrip-wise positive contributions were led by HUBC (132 points), FFC (94 points), PSO (40 points), LUCK (32 points) and NATF (29 points).

    Foreign buying was witnessed this week clocking-in at USD 8.5 million compared to a net buy of USD 4.2 million last week.

    Buying was witnessed in Commercial Banks (USD 6.7 million) and Fertilizer (USD 3.6 million). On the domestic front, major selling was reported by Banks / DFIs (USD 15.2 million) and Insurance Companies (USD 2.6 million).

    Average Volumes settled at 331mn shares (up by 6 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 74 million (up by 15 percent WoW).

  • Stock market climbs up by 825 points on bullish trading

    Stock market climbs up by 825 points on bullish trading

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 825 points on Friday amid bullish trading which resulted in recovery of past day’s losses.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,926 points as against 37,101 points showing an increase of 825 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market went into bullish mode again, recovering majority of loss incurred yesterday.

    During the session, the benchmark index gained 847 points and closed the session +824 points.

    The first session ended +395 points that gave confidence to investors to take positive bet on SBP policy rate decision, due to be announced on Friday eve post market close.

    Activity was observed across the board. Technology stocks traded the most with 44.7 million shares, followed by Cement (33.6 million) and Banks (28.7 million). TRG realized 24.5 million shares, followed by PAEL (20.6 million) and BOP (15.4 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+203 points), Fertilizer (+134 points), E&P (+130 points), Cement (+88 points) and Power (+43 points).

    Volumes increased from 232.6 million shares to 242.7 million shares (+4 percent DoD). Average traded value increased by 0.2 percent DoD to reach US$ 52.2 million as against US$ 52.1 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TRG, PAEL, BOP, PTC and KEL, which formed 33 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include ENGRO (+57 points), FFC (+54 points), HBL (+50 points), LUCK (+47 points) and PPL (+44 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include SHFA (-3 points), SPWL (-3 points), PMPK (-1 points), DCR (-1 points), and IDYM (-1 points).

  • Stock market plunges by 936 points as selling pressure continues

    Stock market plunges by 936 points as selling pressure continues

    KARACHI: The stock market plunged by 936 points on Thursday as selling pressure continued in the market.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,101 points as against 38,038 points showing a decline of 936 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the reports of implementation of Axle Load policy as directed by Islamabad High Court broke the day, post market opening, which had a knee jerk reaction on Cement and Steel stocks.

    Selling pressure kept building up with investors concerned about growing political wrangling.

    Index heavy weights took the toll, causing index to plunge by more than 1000 points, which caused panic among investors especially after sustaining a blow of 527 points yesterday.

    Cement sector led the volumes table with 42.7 million shares, followed by Technology (22.6 million) and Engineering (22 million).

    Scrip wise activity showed KEL scoring 12.1 million shares, followed by PAEL (10.3 million) and TRG (9.5 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-208 points), Fertilizer (-114 points), E&P (-100 points), Power (-96 points) and Cement (-95 points).

    Volumes declined from 327.7 million shares to 232.4 million shares (-29 percent DoD).

    Average traded value also declined by 29 percent DoD to reach US$ 52.1 million as against US$ 73.5 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, PAEL, TRG, UNITY and BOP, which formed 21 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include NESTLE (+5 points), AICL (+3 points), HASCOL (+2 points), GATM (+1 points) and STJT (+0 points).

    Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-69 points), ENGRO (-59 points), LUCK (-53 points), PSO (-44 points), and PPL (-43 points).

  • Stock market falls by 527 points on profit taking

    Stock market falls by 527 points on profit taking

    KARACHI: The stock market fell by 527 points on Wednesday as investors opted for profit taking following the bull run during past few days.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 38,038 points as against 38,564 points showing a decline of 527 points.

    After managing a bull run that added around 10,000 points from its low, the market finally took corrective stance with index plunging 527 points and closing the session at that note.

    Selling pressure was evident in Cement, E&P, O&GMCs and banking sector stocks.

    Although dust is seemingly settling on political front, investors took cue from T-bill auction that saw yields increasing further and considered it best to book profit prior to announcement of monetary policy on Friday November 22, 2019. Street consensus is for status quo.

    Index is so far maintaining healthy volumes registering 327 million shares as compared with 385 million in the previous session.

    Majority of the volumes were traded in Technology with 50.4 million shares, followed by Engineering (38 million) and Banks (33 million).

    Among scrips, WTL led the volumes with 28.3 million shares, followed by BOP (17.1 million) and PAEL (15.1 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-203 points), E&P (-113 points), Cement (-49 points), Fertilizer (-30 points) and Chemical (-24 points).

    Volumes declined further from 385.3 million shares to 327.4 million shares.

    Average traded value also declined by 19 percent to reach US$ 73.4 million as against US$ 90.5 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, BOP, PAEL, KEL and ISL, which formed 25 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include FFC (+24 points), NATF (+10 points), THALL (+7 points), ISL (+7 points) and AGP (+5 points).

    Stocks that contributed negatively include HBL (-63 points), ENGRO (-49 points), OGDC (-35 points), UBL (-34 points), and MCB (-33 points).

  • NCCPL delays CGT collection due to computation process

    NCCPL delays CGT collection due to computation process

    KARACHI: National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) on Wednesday said that it has delayed the collection of capital gain tax (CGT) for the month of October 2019 due to computation procedures.

    In a notice to Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the NCCPL said that the CGT was to be collected on November 19, 2019 for the month of October 2019.

    However, the NCCPL said that it was in process of finalizing the CGT computation, therefore, revised CGT collection date would be notified to the market participants in due course.

    The NCCPL collects CGT on behalf of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on sale and purchase of shares.

    The NCCPL also collected the CGT of previous months of this fiscal year after the scheduled timelines for CGT collection. The delay in collection of CGT was due computation process after the measures announced in the budget 2019/2020.

  • Stock market gains 153 points amid profit taking

    Stock market gains 153 points amid profit taking

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 153 points on Tuesday amid profit taking during the day.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 38,564 points as against 38,412 points showing an increase of +153 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market moved up and down during the session.

    Initially the index gained +500 points but erased all the gains on profit booking, which took the index -18 points.

    Activity picked pace again with index gaining again around +350 points. MoC resulted in selling pressure again, closing the index +153 points.

    Key stocks that sustained selling pressure included DGKC, MLCF, FCCL and largely Steel sector, where MUGHAL saw trading at lower circuit.

    Among Fertilizer sector, ENGRO made a recent high close to Rs. 345, but faced selling pressure to bring the price to Rs. 338.

    Trading volumes registered at 385 million shares, out of which Cement Sector led the table with 53.2 million shares, followed by Banks (40.1 million) and Power (38.5 million).

    Among scrips, KEL realized volumes of 27.5 million, followed by BOP (25 million) and DSL (22.3 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Power (+103 points), O&GMCs (+63 points), Inv Banks (+37 points), Pharma (+28 points), Tobacco (-34 points) Banks (-31 points) and Fertilizer (-16 points).

    Volumes posted a decline from 466.1 million shares to 384.8 million shares (-17 percent DoD). Average trading value also declined by 9 percent to reach US$ 90.4 million as against US$ 99.8 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, BOP, DSL, SNGP and PAEL, which formed 27 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include HUBC (+94 points), PSO (+33 points), DAWH (+27 points), SNGP (+23 points) and FFC (+14 points).

    Stocks that contributed negatively include PAKT (-34 points), ENGRO (-27 points), UBL (-24 points), BAHL (-17 points), and POL (-11 points).

  • SECP warns public against investing in ponzi schemes

    SECP warns public against investing in ponzi schemes

    ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Tuesday warned general public not to invest in fraudulent investment and ponzi schemes that are promising hefty profits and unrealistic incentives to trap innocent people.

    The SECP said that it has come to the regulator knowledge that companies namely M/s. BH Online Jobs (SMCPrivate) Limited, Corporate Automobiles (Private) Limited and Best Day Innovative Solutions (Private) Limited are engaged in unauthorized and dubious business activities.

    The SECP received numerous complaints that these companies are offering investment plans such as leasing/financing of cars, motorcycles, houses etc. and involved in illegal banking business without lawful authority.

    These activities are prohibited and contrary to the object clause of their Memorandum of Association.

    These entities trap people by offering high rates of return with little risk to investors.

    They market their schemes through local newspapers, social media, websites and pamphlets etc.

    The SECP has already initiated legal proceedings for winding up these companies.

    Moreover, the SECP has also received a number of complaints and queries regarding an entity B4U.

    This entity is raising unauthorized deposits from the general public in the name of different investment plans.

    It is clarified that “B4U Trades” is not registered with the SECP.

    The general public is hereby cautioned in their own interest and advised not to be misled by such schemes.

    This warning is being issued to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders, who are presently dealing with these businesses.

    The SECP has time and again clarified that mere registration of a company with it, does not necessarily mean that these companies are allowed to take illegal deposits from general public.

  • Stock market gains 828 points as majority scrips traded in green

    Stock market gains 828 points as majority scrips traded in green

    The stock market witnessed a robust rally on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged by 828 points, closing at 38,412 points, up from the previous close of 37,584 points.

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  • Weekly Review: market to maintain upsurge

    Weekly Review: market to maintain upsurge

    KARACHI: The stock market to maintain upsurge in next week owing to foreign investors’ participation in local bond and equity markets.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that although the market may witness a temporary spell of consolidation, we expect the index to continue its upsurge going forward led by improvement in the macro-economic landscape.

    Moreover, augmented participation by foreign and local investors (courtesy improved volumes) in the debt and equity space has also kept the sentiment upbeat. We advise market participants to cherry pick blue chip scrips and keep their view long.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 6.4x (2020) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 13.6x and while offering DY of ~8.5 percent versus ~2.6 percent offered by the region.

    Foreign investment in government backed treasury bills at USD 722 million since the beginning of FY20, attributable to waning concerns on the economic front has effectively supported the slight growth in FX reserves of the SBP (up by 0.5 percent WoW to USD 8,397 million as at 14th November 2019) and consequentially, kept the exchange rate parity stable.

    Meanwhile the opposition party – JUIF – has called-off the sit-in in the capital, shielding the political climate from heating up.

    This translated to positivity at the domestic equity bourse with the benchmark KSE-100 index closing at 37,584 points this week, generating a return of 4.5 percent WoW (1,606 points).

    Sector-wise Positive contributions came from i) Commercial Banks (430 points), ii) Power Generation & Distribution (203 points), iii) Cement (133 points), iv) E&P (127 points), and OMCs (101 points) while negative contributions were led by i) Tobacco (33 points).

    Scrip-wise positive contributions were led by HUBC (156 points), HBL (103 points), BAHL (93 points), ENGRO (56 points) and TRG (55 points).

    Foreign buying was witnessed this week clocking-in at USD 4.2 million compared to a net buy of USD 4.5 million last week.

    Buying was witnessed in fertilizer (USD 5.1 million) and Commercial Banks (USD 3.8 million). On the domestic front, major selling was reported by Banks / DFIs (USD 18.8 million) and Insurance Companies (USD 9.6 million).

    Average Volumes settled at 311 million shares (up by 21 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 64 million (up by 17 percent WoW).

  • Stock market gains 341 points on buying activities

    Stock market gains 341 points on buying activities

    The Pakistan stock market witnessed a significant rally on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index climbing 341 points. The index closed at 37,584 points, up from 37,243 points, marking a robust session of across-the-board buying activities.

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