Category: Stock & Commodity

KARACHI: The stock market likely to gain momentum following major reshuffle in the federal cabinet and inclusion of technocrats.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited expected the market to continue the momentum it gained on Friday and remain in the green next week.

“Inclusion of technocrats into the federal cabinet may be seen as a positive step for policy making.”

Valuations across the board have opened up and investors are advised to build positions in value stocks.

The domestic equity bourse remained under pressure the entire week owing to lack of clarity over the PM’s decision to make changes in the cabinet, which finally ended with major changes including the removal of Asad Umar from the Finance Ministry on Wednesday.

Failure to get an Amnesty Scheme approved by the cabinet by the Finance Minister also depressed sentiment. Moreover, Commercial Banks remained under pressure mid-week as news of consultation process for creation of a Treasury Single Account (TSA) that would transfer government deposits in Commercial Banks to the SBP, took rounds in the market.

However on the last trading day of the week the market rebounded strongly, accelerating 481 points during the day. The benchmark index closed at 37,292 points at the end of the week, receding by a mere 45 points WoW.

Negative sector-wise contributions came from i) Tobacco (59 points), ii) Cement (55 points), and iii) Engineering (26 points). On the flip side, sectors that contributed positively include i) Fertilizers (72 points), ii) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (26 points), iii) Automobile Assembler (25 points), and iv) Power Generation & Distribution (25 points).

Scrip-wise major negative contributions came from PMPK (32 points), BAHL (29 points), PAKT (27 points) and BOP (24 points). Positive contributions came from FFC (78 points), UBL (58 points), PPL (37 points) and HUBC (36 points).

Foreign selling continued this week clocking-in at USD 1.9 million compared to a net sell of USD 2.2 million last week.

Selling was witnessed in Exploration & Production (USD 5.3 million) and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (USD 0.4 million).

On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Companies (USD 4.6 million) and Individuals (USD 2.3 million). Volumes settled at 176 million shares (up by 18 percent WoW) while value traded clocked in at USD 39mn (up by 16 percent WoW).

KARACHI: The stock exchange on Friday welcomed the resignation of Asad Umar from the post of finance minister by gaining 481 points.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,292 points as against 36,811 points showing an increase of 481 points (+1.3 percent DoD).

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that resignation of the finance minister gave the market the required impetus and investors showed their confidence with an increase of 917 points.

Almost everything from banks to steel saw healthy buying activity, which was further aided by prospects of discovery in offshore Indus, giving way to buying activity in OGDC and PPL.

BOP reversed the negative tide with the news of SBP issuing clarification regarding implementation of TSA.

Resultantly, BOP saw considerable activity at upper circuit.

SNGP, which is due to consider Financials over the weekend, saw the scrip trading at an near upper circuit.

Likewise, LOTCHEM which was estimated to post lower earnings came with a positive surprise and double the market expectation. LOTCHEM also closed at upper circuit.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+188 points), E&P (+61 points), Fertilizer (+46 points), Food (+40 points) Power (+40 points).

Volumes declined from 216 million shares to 177 million shares (-18 percent DoD). Average traded value on the contrary increased by 28 percent DoD to reach US$ 46.9 million as against US$ 36.6 million.

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

Stocks that contributed positively include MCB (+65 points), HBL (+51 points), FFC (+38 points), PPL (+36 points), and NESTLE (+35 points).

Stocks that contributed negatively include MARI (-8 points), IGIHL (-6 points), MEBL (-6 points), HMB (-5 points) and DAWH (-4 points).

KARACHI: The equity market gained 59 points on Thursday after witnessing seesaw trading during the day.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 36,811 points as against 36,753 points showing an increase of 59 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market had an exciting session where the Index slipped in and out of green zone several times but ended the session in green.

Besides after shock of TSA and regardless of SBP’s clarification on the matter, BOP’s price went down again and after initial trading in a narrow range, the price hit lower circuit and closed near that level.

By the end of session, news of Finance Minister, Asad Umer again caused panic but market saw recovery after initial reaction.

Banking sector ranked top in terms of volume with 62 million shares, followed by Vanaspati (54 million) and Cement (21 million).

BOP ranked top consecutively on the volumes table with 53 million shares.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+37 points), Power (+33 points), E&P (+28 points), Fertilizer (+26 points) Autos (+7 points), Cement (-47 points).

Volumes increased from 173 million shares to 216 million shares. Average traded value also increased by 5 percent DoD to reach US$ 36.6 million as against US$ 34.8 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BOP, UNITYR1, UNITY, LOTCHEM and PAEL, which formed 60 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively include HBL (+39 points), FFC (+37 points), HUBC (+30 points), UBL (+28 points), and PPL (+25 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BOP (-22 points), LUCK (-18 points), MCB (-12 points), DAWH (-10 points) and PSO (-10 points).

KARACHI: The equity market plunged by over 600 points on Wednesday owing to selling pressure and proposed treasury single account.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 36,753 points as against 37,382 points showing a decline of 629 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the profit booking at the bourse turned into panic selling, courtesy of banking sector.

Market opened 5 points plus and could gain a total of 37 points after which the selling pressure started building.

O&GMCs, Cement and Fertilizer were the sectors that saw some uptick in the beginning however, selling pressure in Engineering (ISL) on the back of yesterday’s disappointing result and Banks (due to proposal of setting up Treasury Single Account) caused havoc.

BOP saw lower circuit breaker and +50M shares by the end of session.

Amongst other banking sector scrips, HBL also saw lower circuit that added pressure on the Index.

Overall, Banking sector realized 65M shares, followed by Vanaspati (UNITYR1) and Cement. Besides BOP, MLCF and FCCL ranked among top 10 scrips in traded volume.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-245 points), Power (-58 points), O&GMCs (-46 points), E&P (-38 points) and Cement (-38 points).

Volumes bounced back from 140 million shares the other day to 173 million shares (+23 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 5 percent to US$34.8 million and from US$33.3 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BOP, UNITYR1, MLCF, TRIBL and LOTCHEM, which formed 54 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively include POL (+10 points), KTML (+4 points), NRL (+2 points), SCBPL (+2 points), and LOTCHEM (+2 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HBL (-97 points), HUBC (-38 points), NESTLE (-28 points), OGDC (-26 points) and BOP (-24 points).

KARACHI: The stock market ended down by 122 points on Tuesday following profit taking during the day.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,382 points as against 37,504 points showing a decline of 122 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market saw attrition of 91 points (unadjusted) by session’s end, where the index swayed +132 points and -165 points during the day.

Profit booking became the mantra for investors, who keenly waited for ISL’s results, they added.

Financial results were announced close to session’s end and disappointed investors and analysts alike.

The stock ultimately hit lower circuit and dampened investor sentiment too.

Cement sector remained in the limelight with 29 million traded volume, however, the underlying scrips witnessed selling pressure on the back of disagreement among Cement manufacturers regarding sales quota.

KEL saw activity to the downside in last half hour of trading that saw price dropping below Rs. 5 shortly. The sector that stood out and defied the selling pressure was Autos, which saw most scrips trading at Upper circuit.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-39 points), E&P (-22 points), Engineering (-17 points), O&GMCs (-16 points), Tobacco (-16 points), Autos (+14 points).

Volumes declined further from 172 million to 140 million shares (-19 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 24 percent to reach US$ 33.3 million as against US$ 43.6 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITYR1, KEL, PAEL, PIOC and MLCF, which formed 41 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively include UBL (+18 points), FFC (+16 points), HUBC (+7 points), HASCOL (+7 points), and AICL (+6 points).

Stocks that contributed negatively include MCB (-17 points), POL (-15 points), PMPK (-12 points), ISL (-12 points) and PSO (-11 points).

KARACHI: The equity market gained 166 points on Monday in mixed trading sessions.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,504 points as against 37,338 points showing an increase of 166 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market continued the trend showed last week with an upward move of 361 points during the session but also saw profit booking in sectors (Cement, Engineering, Banks) which took the Index up last week.

Among Cement sector, FCCL, MLCF and PIOC contributed significantly in the top 10 traded volumes.

O&GMCs continued driving upward with SNGP trading at upper circuit and closing at that level.

Friday saw SNGP announcing Board meeting in last week of April, which gave Investors confidence in scrip.

Among Banks, HBL and UBL saw price gains but last half hour saw selling pressure in HBL.

Cement Sector topped volumes table with around 37 million shares, followed by Banks (around 25 million).

Among Scrips, PAEL consecutively outperformed with 18 million traded volume and trading near upper circuit. KEL was also able to garner around 14 million shares however, its price declined by 3.4 percent.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+55 points), O&GMCs (+31 points), Fertilizer (+27 points), Cement (+20 points), Food (+18 points), Insurance (-14 points).

Volumes declined slightly from 189.4 million shares to 172 million (-9 percent DoD). Average traded value however, increased by 15 percent to reach US$ 43.6 million as against US$ 37.8 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include PAEL, KEL, BOP, FCCL and TRG, which formed 38 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively include HBL (+33 points), SNGP (+22 points), NESTLE (+14 points), FCCL (+11 points), and MCB (+11 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PMPK (-8 points), KEL (-8 points), EFUG (-7 points), POL (-7 points) and ABOT (-6 points).

KARACHI: The stock market likely to perform better during next week owing to launching of new amnesty scheme and progress on IMF bailout package.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market to turn positive in upcoming days with triggers including amnesty announcement and agreement with the IMF (principal agreement has been reached but staff level arrangement remains pending).

Moreover, budget proposal will continue to flow in and keep certain sectors under limelight.

The analysts said that this week the market winds blew in all directions, with the benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closing in green on 3/5 days and ending the week at 37,338 points (down by 184 points, 0.5 percent WoW).

While low GDP forecast by the IMF and cement price cut mid-week in North and South ruined market sentiment initially, growth in remittances, positive outcome of the Finance Minister’s meeting with World Bank and IMF in the US, anticipation of another Amnesty Scheme together with talks of cement price restoration by cement manufacturers, revived the colour of the market.

The analysts also highlighted that the market fell below its 3-year low this week.

Negative sector-wise contributions came from i) Cement (209.9 points) as news of cement players cutting prices eroded investor confidence, ii) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (63.7 points), iii) Fertilizer (39.1 points), iv) Textile Composite (19.3 points), and v) Pharmaceuticals (18.6 points).

On the flip side, sectors that contributed positively include i) Power Generation & Distribution (73.4 points), ii) Commercial Banks (72.2 points), iii) Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (20. points), iv) Food & Personal Care Products (11.8 points), and v) Automobile Assembler (11.7 points). Scrip-wise major negative contributions came from LUCK (60.7 points), FCCL (36.1 points), and DGKC (35.7 points).

Foreign selling continued this week clocking-in at USD 2.2 million compared to a net sell of USD 3.7 million last week.

Selling was witnessed in Commercial Banks (USD 4.0 million) and Power Generation & Distribution (USD 0.7 million). On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Banks / DFIs (USD 4.0 million) and Companies (USD 3.6 million).

Volumes settled at 148 million shares (up by 25 percent WoW) while value traded clocked in at USD 34 million (up by 36 percent WoW).

KARACHI: The equity market made recovery of over 550 points on Friday on reports of IMF loan program.

The benchmark KSE-100 of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,338 points as against 36,787 points showing an increase of 550 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the index saw significant recovery today.

The session commenced with cautious optimism and initial test of -46 points, market sprung strongly with 633 points and closed at 550 points.

Cement Sector again contributed significantly to the rise in Index with 33 million shares followed by Banks (30 million shares).

BOP (Bank of Punjab) topped the volumes chart with around 23million shares and closed near upper circuit.

As against the trades in past sessions, Cement sector rebounded strongly on the back of a significant decline in international coal prices, which prompted investors to take positive bets.

Asad Umar’s announcement of near conclusion of IMF package also helped revive investor sentiment.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+149 points), Cement (+100 points), O&GMCs (+58 points), Fertilizer (+52 points), Pharma (+30 points).

Volumes increased from 143.8 million shares to 189.4 million shares (+32 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 21 percent to reach US$ 37.8 million as against US$ 31.2 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BOP, UNITYR1, KEL, WTL and FCCL, which formed 41 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively include LUCK (+51 points), PSO (+36 points), HBL (+35 points), BAHL (+27 points), and ENGRO (+23 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-15 points), PMPK (-13 points), APL (-11 points), PPL (-3 points) and HMB (-3 points).

KARACHI: The equity market ended with gain of 208 points on Thursday in a narrow band trading.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 36,787 points as against 36,579 points showing an increase of 208 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded in a narrow band today, although tilted towards positive, but oscillated between -80 points and +331 points during the session.

Highlight of today’s session remained Cement Sector, which saw trading volumes of 38M (contributed by FCCL, MLCF & DCL) and contributed negatively to the points table.

Selling pressure was observed in the Cement sector, whereby MLCF saw several touchdowns on lower circuit, but otherwise DGKC and LUCK saw considerable buying activity. E&P, Refinery, Banks and Engineering sector performed positive today.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+48 points), E&P (+46 points), O&GMCs (+36 points), Power (+24 points), Fertilizer (+20 points) and Cement (-20 points).

Volumes increased from 141.2 million shares to 143.8 million shares (+2 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 7 percent to reach US$ 31.2 million as against US$ 29.1 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TRG, FCCL, MLCF, KEL and WTL, which formed 39 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively include OGDC (+29 points), PSO (+24 points), HUBC (+22 points), LUCK (+22 points), and HBL (+14 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include DGKC (-13 points), FCCL (-9 points), MLCF (-9 points), HASCOL (-5 points) and CHCC (-5 points).