Category: Stock & Commodity

  • Stock market recovers 1195 points on hopes of state fund buying

    Stock market recovers 1195 points on hopes of state fund buying

    KARACHI: The stock exchange recovered around 1195 points on Wednesday on the hope of buying through state fund.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 34,637 points as against 33,442 points showing an increase of 1195 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market is showing signs of a bull run in the wake of the State Fund that will likely buy scrips of State owned listed entities.

    On the whole, market shot up by 1256 points during the session, and closed +1195 points. Majority stocks hit upper circuit including index blue chips OGDC, PSO, SNGP, NBP and otherwise traded in green zone throughout the session.

    Volumes maintained the healthy stride of 150M plus for the third consecutive session and today crossed 200 million shares mark. Banking sector led the volumes table with 44 million shares, followed by Technology (32 million) and Power (19 million) Sectors.

    Among banking sector BOP marked hefty volume of 25 million shares, followed by WTL (20 million) in Technology Sector.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+269 points), Fertilizer (+219 points), Banks (+216 points), Power (+116 points) and Cement (+96 points).

    Volumes increased significantly from 153.6mn shares to 203.5mn shares (+32 percent DoD). Average traded value, however, increased by 1 percent merely to reach US$ 35.2 million as against US$ 34.9 million the other day.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BOP, WTL, KEL, PIBTL and UNITY, which formed 40 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include OGDC (+93 points), PPL (+93 points), HUBC (+73 points), ENGRO (+66 points) and HBL (+65 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BAFL (-8 points), INDU (-5 points), JLICL (-4 points), ICI (-2 points) and COLG (-2 points).

  • Stock market gains 192 points on positive sentiments

    Stock market gains 192 points on positive sentiments

    KARACHI: The stock market ended with gain on Tuesday continuing the positive sentiments for second consecutive day.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 34,442 points as compared with previous day’s closing of 33,250 points with gain 192 points.

    Analysts at Topline Securities said that second consecutive session closed in positive trajectory, as bourse gained 192 points (0.57 percent), closing at 33,442 index level as creation of ‘Stock Market Support Fund’ triggered investors to rush for state owned stocks like, OGDC, SSGC, SNGP and PSO.

    These three stocks closed near to their upper locks in today’s session.

    Steel sector also outperformed, where ASTL, CSAP, and MUGHAL closed at their upper locks. Additionally, ISL and ASL closed to near to upper lock.

    Trading activity remained dull as volume went down by 7 percent, similarly, value decline 13 percent. Unity, TRG and KEL remained the volume leader of today’s session with cumulative volume of 40mn shares.

    Out of 307 actively traded scrips today, 173 closed positive, while 133 remained negative.

  • Stock market gains 84 points after early day losses

    Stock market gains 84 points after early day losses

    KARACHI: The stock market ended with gain of 84 points after recovery from massive loss earlier in the day on Monday.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,250 points as against 33,166 points showing an increase of +84 points

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that KSE-100 index showed first signs of recovery and that too on a day when SBP is scheduled to announce monetary policy.

    Buying activity was observed in index heavy weights after an initial plunge of 814 points.

    Several stocks especially Cement sector, saw lower circuits. E&P Sector showed mixed reaction throughout the day, with OGDC trading above last trading day’s closing whereas PPL and POL saw attrition.

    PPL hit lower circuit, but recovered by the end of session. Similarly, O&GMCs performed well and SSGC, SNGP were seen trading at upper circuits.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+74 points), O&GMCs (+50 points), Fertilizer (+31 points), Transport (+18 points), Tobacco (+15 points) and E&P (-118 points).

    Volumes increased significantly from 90 million shares to 166 million shares (+83 percent DoD).

    Similarly, Average traded value also doubled from US$ 21 million to US$ 41 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, TRG, UNITY, LOTCHEM and PIBTL, which formed 29 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include ENGRO (+44 points), HBL (+41 points), UBL (+33 points), PSO (+22 points) and PIBTL (+18 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PPL (-94 points), MCB (-26 points), OGDC (-22 points), FFC (-10 points) and MTL (-9 points).

  • Weekly Review: Monetary policy to set market trend

    Weekly Review: Monetary policy to set market trend

    KARACHI: The change in key policy rate to be announced by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on May 20 will set the market trend during the next week.

    “With monetary policy to be announced in the coming week investors are most likely to have a cautious approach and bearish sentiments may persist,” analysts at Arif Habib Limited said on Saturday.

    Given uncertainty in PKR/USD parity, macro-economic concerns and lack of positive triggers we expect the market to trade range bound. However, attractive valuation may revive investor sentiments.

    The analysts said that the market continued to bleed this week, commencing on a negative note.

    The expectation of positive sentiments upon agreement of IMF Program did not materialize.

    Investors remained cautious due to tough measures attached with the program.

    However, investors took a sigh of relief mid-week owing to Pakistan’s emerging market status being retained, positive news regarding offshore drilling (final stages) and approval of amnesty scheme by the cabinet.

    The momentum, however, was short lived as the Pak Rupee witnessed depreciation against the USD and concerns persisted over a significant rate hike in the upcoming monetary policy statement.

    The market shed 1,550 points (down by 4.5 percent) WoW, closing at 33,166 points.

    Negative sector-wise contributions came from i) Fertilizers (335 points), ii) Cements (237 points), iii) Commercial Banks (229 points), iv) Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (219 points) and v) Pharmaceuticals (92 points).

    Whereas, sectors that contributed positively include i) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (83 points) and ii) Power Generation (19 points).

    Scrip-wise negative contributions came from FFC (161 points), PSO (85 points), ENGRO (80 points) and HBL (76 points). Whereas, positive scrip-wise contributions came from PPL (109 points), HUBC (84 points), and POL (49 points).

    Foreign buying continued this week clocking-in at USD 8.2 million compared to a net buy of USD 10.4 million last week. Buying was witnessed in Commercial Banks (USD 8.2 million) and Cement (USD 5.6 million).

    On the domestic front, major selling was reported by Mutual Funds (USD 19.1 million) and Insurance Companies (USD 2.4 million). Average Volumes settled at 107 million shares (up by 46 percent WoW) while value traded clocked in at USD 29 million (up by 29 percent WoW).

  • Hafeez Shaikh approves disaster support fund worth Rs17bn for stock exchange

    Hafeez Shaikh approves disaster support fund worth Rs17bn for stock exchange

    KARACHI: Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue on Friday met members of delegation of stock exchange and approved Rs17 billion amounting disaster support fund.

    According to sources a meeting between stock members delegation consisting of Arif Habib, Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, Basheer Jan Muhammad, and Sulaiman Mehdi with the advisor. The meeting was ended on a positive note today.

    Dr. Hafeez Shaikh approved initiation of “Disaster Support Fund” worth around Rs17 billion rupees which will be managed by NIT where MD NIT Adnan Afridi was called on immediate notice to discuss the execution of the fund.

    The advisor also committed to expedite the Buy Back regulation amendments to support and hold destabilizing stock prices.

    In regard to the current issue of Show Cause notices in relation to short selling, Finance Minister has requested SECP to expedite and clear the ambiguities between the authorities and brokers to bring investor class confidence in the market.

    Besides this, another development states that the same delegation is scheduled to meet Governor State Bank of Pakistan today to discuss and resolve issues in relation to Monetary Policy and Exchange rate affecting the stock market and the economy.

  • KSE-100 ends down by 805 points on massive rupee depreciation

    KSE-100 ends down by 805 points on massive rupee depreciation

    The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another day of significant decline as the benchmark KSE-100 index lost 805 points, closing at 33,167 points compared to 33,971 points the previous day.

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  • KSE-100 ends down 321 points on panic selling

    KSE-100 ends down 321 points on panic selling

    KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Market (PSX) on Thursday fell by 321 points in panic selling over significant decline of rupee against dollar.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of PSX closed at 33,971 points as against 34,292 points showing a decline of 321 points.

    Analysts at all the gains made yesterday got eroded in early trading. During the session, the index slid by 717 points however, recovered by the end resulting in closing of – 321 points.

    Panic selling ensued increase of Dollar in inter-bank market.

    The spread widened in early trades that caused investors to get jittery, which was followed by across the board selling.

    Cement, Steel and Auto Sector scrips received most of bantering whereas selling was generally observed in scrips that positively relate to increase in rupee dollar parity. Buying activity was seen mid day that resulted in recovery of ~500 points.

    By the end of session, SBP’s notification for release of Monetary policy on May 20.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+78 points), Power (+16 points), Banks (-112 points), Cement (-69 points), O&GMCs (-62 points), Fertilizer (-49 points), Pharma (-21 points).

    Volumes declined from 111 million shares to 109 million shares (-2 percent DoD). Average traded value however, declined by 16 percent DoD to reach US$ 26.5 million as against US$ 31.5 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, PIBTL, UNITY, TRG and PSX, which formed 35 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include POL (+55 points), PPL (+41 points), HUBC (+27 points), PAKT (+9 points) and NESTLE (+6 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HBL (-38 points), LUCK (-25 points), PSO (-23 points), MCB (-21 points) and OGDC (-19 points).

  • Stock market gains 406 points on amnesty scheme launching

    Stock market gains 406 points on amnesty scheme launching

    KARACHI: The stock exchange gained 406 points on Wednesday owing to introduction of tax amnesty scheme by the government for undeclared assets.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 34,291 points as against 33,885 points showing an increase of 406 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market made a positive move today, courtesy of Amnesty Scheme as well as news of successful drilling at Kekra 1.

    Resultantly, E&P scrips performed well and Investors in general took positive bets on Fertilizer, Cement, Banks and Steel. Cement sector topped the volumes table with 19.4 million shares, followed by Banks (14 million) and Power (11.9 million).

    Investors interest in HUBC kept the price up consecutively since yesterday and similar interest was seen in KEL, which also topped the volumes. OGDC, PPL and POL nonetheless, became the star performers today.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+208 points), Power (+62 points), Fertilizer (+55 points), O&GMCs (+44 points), Pharma (+23 points), Food (-37 points) Banks (-18 points).

    Volumes increased slightly from 105.7 million shares to 110.9 million shares (+5 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 4 percent to reach US$ 31.5 million as against US$ 30.3 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, MLCF, BOP, OGDC and LOTCHEM, which formed 33 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include PPL (+94 points), POL (+52 points), OGDC (+43 points), HUBC (+42 points) and EFERT (+30 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include NESTLE (-37 points), HBL (-26 points), MCB (-13 points), DGKC (-10 points) and ICI (-6 points).

  • Stock market eases amid buying activities

    Stock market eases amid buying activities

    KARACHI: The stock market ended down 15 points on Tuesday despite last hour buying activities.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,885 points as against 33,900 points showing a decline of 15 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market improved slightly and although the index oscillated between -209 points and +167 points (~350 points).

    Last half hour of trading, as has been the case lately, was again interesting which saw buying activity in index drivers such as ENGRO, but also saw buying in SEARL, ABL that pulled up the index. Cement sector led the volumes table with 17.6 million shares, followed by Power (11 million) and Banks (8.8 million).

    Scrip wise activity shows KEL topping the volumes with 7 million shares followed by UNITY and MLCF.

    Cement sector has seen attrition since past week and today was no different which saw key cement scrips trading at lower circuits for instance PIOC, MLCF, DGKC etc. Collectively, Banks and E&P scrips performed well today, whereas O&GMCs (PSO), and Cement contributed to the downside.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+117 points), Banks (+80 points), Power (+30 points), O&GMCs (-64 points), Cement (-39 points), Fertilizer (-25 points), Pharma (-20 points), Textile (-20 points).

    Volumes registered a slight decline of 13 percent DoD to reach 105.7 million as against 121.2 million. Average traded value also declined by 19 percent to reach US$ 30.3 million as against US$ 37.5 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, UNITY, MLCF, PIBTL and TRG, which formed 28 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include PPL (+68 points), HUBC (+27 points), POL (+27 points), UBL (+23 points) and MCB (+19pt). Stocks that contributed negatively include PSO (-30 points), DAWH (-27 points), DGKC (-15 points), COLG (-12 points) and FFC (-10 points).

  • Stock market plunges by 816 points on IMF loan agreement

    Stock market plunges by 816 points on IMF loan agreement

    KARACHI: The stock exchange plunged by 816 points on Monday on report of finalization of loan program with IMF.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 33,900 points as against 34,717 points showing a decline of 816 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that index saw a major draw down of 937 points, post Pakistan entering IMF program.

    The sessions commenced on a positive note and market at first increased by 511 points before plunging ~1400 points.

    Last half hour of trading showed some buying activity that resulted in an unadjusted closing of -784 points.

    Stocks, all and sundry, became target of Investors’ wrath. Besides conclusion of IMF program, the market was also faced with MSCI Review that had negative implications for stocks that form part of MSCI EM Index.

    Several stocks hit lower circuit, important among those included SSGC, MLCF, PIOC, DGKC, GHNI etc. Banking sector remained unscathed in relative terms and scrips like MCB, HBL, UBL, MEBL traded in green zone.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-159 points), Fertilizer (-157 points), Banks (-93 points), O&GMCs (-69 points) and Cement (-68 points).

    Volumes increased significantly from 39.3 million shares to 121.2 million shares (+209 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 202 percent DoD to reach US$ 37.5 million as against US$ 12.4 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, MLCF, BOP, PIBTL, and UNITY, which formed 29 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include MCB (+18 points), HUBC (+12 points), NATF (+3 points), SYS (+3 points) and SRVI (+1pt). Stocks that contributed negatively include FFC (-73 points), OGDC (-51 points), POL (-47 points), ENGRO (-36 points) and PPL (-36 points).