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Category: Stock & Commodity

  • Weekly Review: coronavirus spread likely to haunt stock market

    Weekly Review: coronavirus spread likely to haunt stock market

    KARACHI: The spread of coronavirus likely to haunt the stock market in the coming week as it had already dented massively.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that with panic and uncertainty looming over the extension of Coronavirus, global markets are yet to ascertain long term impact.

    “We do highlight that international markets have fallen significantly from their all-time high levels whereas the local index had already undergone major correction prior to spread of the virus.”

    Announcement of Monetary Policy in the coming week remains a key event for the market, where we expect the SBP to cut the benchmark rate by 50-100 basis points, which can be a positive trigger for the bourse.

    With that said, valuations across the board particularly in blue-chip scrips have reached attractive levels.

    The market commenced on a negative note on Monday amid sharp decline in oil prices (Arab Light down by 27 percent DoD) after OPEC and Russia failed to agree upon oil production cut and Saudi Arabia engaged in an oil price war, consequentially, the market nose-dived by 2,302 points during the intraday.

    The following day, the equity bourse displayed a swift rebound owed to expectations of a cut in interest rate, keeping in view decline in inflation.

    However, the sentiment was short lived as Pak Rupee depreciated against USD by 3 percent WoW. Furthermore, the US President imposed a travel ban on most European countries which led to a meltdown in Global Markets given classification confirmation by WHO of Corona as a pandemic.

    Following suit, panic was also witnessed at the KSE-100 Index (market halt enforced thrice during the week). The benchmark KSE-100 Index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 36,061 points, down 2,159 points WoW (-5.65 percent).

    Sector-wise negative contributions came from i) Commercial Banks (706 points), ii) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (650 points) and iii) Fertilizers (317 points).

    Positive contributions came from Pharmaceuticals (35 points). Scrip-wise negative contributions were led by PPL (262 points), HBL (177 points), and ENGRO (167 points) while positive contributions were led by SEARL (30 points), and INDU (20 points).

    Foreign selling continued this week clocking-in at USD 23.0 million compared to a net sell of USD 16.7 million last week.

    Selling was witnessed in Cements (USD 8.2 million) and Exploration & Production (USD 6.2 million). On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Insurance Companies (USD 25.2 million) and Banks/DFIs (USD 6.0 million). Average Volumes settled at 264 million shares (up by 9 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 81 million (up by 25 percent WoW).

  • US stocks jump up after Trump declares coronavirus outbreak emergency

    US stocks jump up after Trump declares coronavirus outbreak emergency

    The US stocks rebounded on Friday and jumped up more than 9 percent after US President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus outbreak a national emergency.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1,985 points higher, or 9.4 percent, at 23,185.62. Friday marked the Dow’s biggest-ever point gain. The S&P 500 climbed 9.2 percent to 2,711.02 while the Nasdaq Composite surged 9.3 percent to 7,874.23. The averages posted their biggest one-day gain since October 2008, according to CNBC.

    The BBC reported that Wall Street shares rallied on Friday after US President Donald Trump declared the coronavirus outbreak a national emergency, freeing up money to fight the spread of the disease.

    As the president spoke, the three main US indexes jumped more than 9 percent.

    Earlier, London’s FTSE 100 closed up 2.5 percent, retreating from an early surge, while other European indexes made similar moves.

    The rally comes a day after Wall Street suffered its biggest losses since 1987.

    Investors fear economies could slide into recession as a result of the pandemic, as business is disrupted, events are cancelled and schools in many countries close in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

    Many indexes around the world have now fallen more than 20 percent from their recent highs – a red flag for recession, the BBC reported.

    CNN reported it was the best day for stocks since 2008, but indexes still ended the week with sharp losses. This pretty much sums up the market volatility.

  • SECP discusses stock market situation

    SECP discusses stock market situation

    ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has discussed the situation of the stock market, which triggered halt for third time in this week.

    The SECP team lead by the Chairman SECP and Commissioner(SM) held a detailed meeting with the CEOs of Pakistan Stock Exchange, National Clearing Company and Central Depository Company (Self-Regulatory Organizations – SROs) this morning, to review and discuss the stock market situation, risk management and business continuity.

    The index based market halts were triggered for the third time during this week. This cooling-off period gave an opportunity to investors to align their trading strategy and collection of margins by the Clearing Company.

    The participants of the meeting affirmed that risk management system was functioning efficiently and margins were being collected timely.

    The Market operations were running smoothly as a whole. The SROs further apprised that their business continuity plans and disaster recovery setup was in place based on SECP’s earlier instructions.

    The Chairman SECP emphasized on conducting drills to ensure remote operations of trading, clearing, settlement and custody services while allowing remote access of market participants to such systems in case onsite operations or physical access was impacted.

    He also suggested adoption of further preventive measures against spread of coronavirus.

    The SECP advised SROs to remain vigilant, continue to provide uninterrupted access to market participants and ensure effective risk management while maintaining actively engagement with their boards of directors and committees for close coordination.

  • Stock market gains 104 points amid third trading halt

    Stock market gains 104 points amid third trading halt

    KARACHI: The stock market gained 104 points on Friday despite third market halt in the week was witnessed.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Index closed at 36,060 points as against 35,957 points showing an increase of 104 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that third consecutive market halt was met by one of the largest pull backs in recent times at the bourse.

    Initially market opened on a negative note with -614 points and 0.86 million traded at opening bell.

    Situation worsened and caused the halt at -1683 points by 9:25 AM and 25 million shares traded on KSE100.

    Market re-opened at -1267 points, registering a recovery of 416 points and continued the path of recovery by the close of first session.

    Second session opened -347 points, which showed a recovery of 1336 points, however, the index swung back into negative territory and yet again managed to post a recovery in MoC when the index posted gain.

    Recovery was mainly seen in Oil & Gas, Banking and Cement sectors which have heavy weightage on Index.

    Market recovery largely banked on improving sentiments in regional and global markets, whereby India and South Korea were seen banning short sale.

    In addition, international crude price also posted an intra-day gain of around 5 percent that helped investors make a positive view on pertinent stocks.

    Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+117 points), Pharma (+35 points), O&GMCs (+28 points), Chemical (+23 points), Banks (-63 points), Cement (-40 points), Tobacco (-37 points).

    Volumes increased from 230.7 million shares to 290.1 million shares (+26 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 42 percent to reach US$ 87.8 million as against US$ 61.9 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BOP, MLCF, FCCL, HASCOL DGKC, which formed 38 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include OGDC (+57 points), PSO (+32 points), POL (+26 points), HBL (+25 points) and ENGRO (+25 points).

    Stocks that contributed negatively include LUCK (-51 points), UBL (-48 points), MCB (-42 points), PAKT (-37 points), and FFC (-16 points).

  • PSX launches NIT Pakistan Gateway Index

    PSX launches NIT Pakistan Gateway Index

    KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday announced the launching of NIT Pakistan Gateway Index (NITPGI).

    In a statement the stock market informed all the concerned that the NIT Pakistan Gateway Index would be made live along with its constituents from March 16, 2020.

    The index was initiated on January 31, 2020 with the base value of 10,000 points.

    As per the prescribed criteria the index aims to track the performance of stocks that represent top 50 percent free float market capitalization of KSE-100 index.

  • US stocks plummet on US travel ban from Europe

    US stocks plummet on US travel ban from Europe

    US stocks witnessed plummeted on Thursday after the US President imposed travel ban to curb coronavirus outbreak, which spooked investors and rattled world markets.

    According to CNBC the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,352.33 points, or 9.99 percent, to 21,200.89, the S&P 500 lost 260.75 points, or 9.51 percent, to 2,480.63 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 750.25 points, or 9.43 percent, to 7,201.80.

    CNN reported that Wall Street had its worst day since October 19, 1987, also known as “Black Monday”.

    The S&P 500 (SPX) fell 9.5 percent. The index, which is the broadest measure of US stocks, is now in a bear market, defined as a 20 percent drop from the most recent peak. This has officially ended the longest bull-market in history.

    The Dow (INDU) fell 2,353 points, or nearly 10 percent, also its worst day since “Black Monday.” It was its worst one-day point drop on record. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) dropped 9.4 percent.

    CNN further said President Donald Trump used a national address on the coronavirus to announce a ban on most travel from Europe, but failed to deliver the comprehensive economic and medical response to the outbreak that investors are craving.

    BBC reported that in the US, the Dow and S&P 500 were also hit by their steepest daily falls since 1987.

    The declines came despite actions by the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank to ease financial strains.

    At the start of US trading, plummeting shares triggered an unusual automatic suspension in trading for the second time this week.

    When trade resumed 15 minutes later, shares continued to fall, taking cues from the slide in European markets.

  • SECP issues advisory for companies on coronavirus threat

    SECP issues advisory for companies on coronavirus threat

    ISLAMABAD: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Thursday issued advisory for companies to protect from coronavirus threat.

    In light of the threat posed by the evolving COVID-19 situation (Corona Virus) and to protect the wellbeing of shareholders, the SECP advised all companies to modify their usual planning for annual general meetings.

    Meeting of the Board of Director may also be held through tele / video conferencing.

    SECP has recommended all companies to consider and evaluate the risks in the present situation.

    Every company, is required to hold, an annual general meeting (AGM) within sixteen months from the date of its incorporation and thereafter once in every calendar year within a period of 120 days following the close of its financial year.

    As AGM season for December end companies is approaching, the directors and secretaries should modify their usual planning for their company’s AGM in light of the threat posed by the evolving COVID-19 situation.

    Directors should consider if members can consolidate their attendance and voting at AGMs into as few people as possible through proxies, while honoring quorum provisions.

    In order to avoid large gathering at one place, the companies may consider provision of video link facilities at different locations considering the geographical dispersal of its members.

    The companies shall consider basic protective measures during the meeting including facility of cleaning hand with sanitizers or soap and water. Moreover, for safety of members seating arrangement shall be made at appropriate distance.

    Furthermore, voting through postal ballot may be considered by the chairman of the meeting or by the members present in person or through video-link or by proxy having not less than one-tenth of the total voting power by demanding poll for resolutions.

    This is safer option in current situation. The members of a private company or a public unlisted company (having not more than 50 members), may pass a resolution (ordinary or special) by circulation signed by all the members for the time being entitled to receive notice of a meeting, except for the ordinary businesses specified under sub-section (2) of section 134 of the Companies Act, 2017 to be conducted in the annual general meeting.

    The directors may hold their board meetings through tele or video link provided that the minutes of such meeting are approved and signed subsequently by all the directors.

  • Stock market faces another crash; ends down by 1717 points

    Stock market faces another crash; ends down by 1717 points

    KARACHI: The stock market crashed on Thursday following deterioration in world stock markets after World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus as global pandemic.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) failed to sustain 36,000 level and ended down by 1717 points to 35,956 points.

    The benchmark index witnessed sharp decline on Monday this week.

    Analysts said that the stock market was under massive pressure following significant dip in US markets and sharp decline in Asian markets.

    Besides, world oil prices also came down by 4 percent. They said that the multiple factors had brought down the local bourses.

    Earlier in the day the market was halted for 45 minutes when the KSE-30 index fell 4 percent. This was second halt in trading of PSX in this week. However, the market unable to recover after resumption.

    The analysts said that the investors were cautious about the threat of coronavirus. The central banks of many countries had cut interest rates owing to expected decline in the world economy.

    Further, the investors are also eying a sizeable cut in key policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) as the statement is scheduled to be announced on Mach 17, 2020.

  • Trading at PSX halts; KSE-100 falls 1324 points

    Trading at PSX halts; KSE-100 falls 1324 points

    KARACHI: The trading activities at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) halted as KSE-30 index fell more than 4 percent in intraday on Thursday.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index also witnessed 1324 points or 3.64 percent decline during intraday trading. The KSE-100 has come down and is trading at 36,348 points.

    The PSX is also following the global stock market which witnessed sharp decline after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus as pandemic.

    The trading activities at the PSX has been stopped for the second time in this week.

    The trading has been halted for 45 minutes and will resume at 3:00pm PST.

  • Equity market declines by 22 points amid selling in E&P sector

    Equity market declines by 22 points amid selling in E&P sector

    KARACHI: The equity market fell by 22 points on Wednesday after witnessed over 600 points gain earlier in the day.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,673 points as against 37,696 points showing a decline of 22 points.

    Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened on a positive note today and gained 637 points during the session, only to see Saudi and UAE signaling crude production ramp-up in April.

    That caused E&P sector sliding again, with PPL trading near yesterday’s lower circuit breaker.

    Cement sector bore selling pressure due to profit booking, which caused index coming down and erasing all the gains, closing the session 22 points down. Cement sector topped the volume with 65.6M shares, followed by Banks (22.5 million) and O&GMCs (18.8 million). Among scrips, MLCF posted 17.6 million shares, followed by FCCL (15.9 million) and HASCOL (13.4 million).

    Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+90 points), Pharma (+20 points), Fertilizer (-26 points), E&P (-25 points), O&GMCs (-19 points).

    Volumes declined from 274.8 million shares to 217.6 million shares (-21 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 29 percent to reach US$ 74.7 million as against US$ 105.6 million.

    Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, FCCL, HASCOL, PPL and BOP, which formed 31 percent of total volumes.

    Stocks that contributed positively include HBL (+27 points), UBL (+25 points), BAHL (+23 points), BAFL (+16 points) and SEARL (+13 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PPL (-14 points), ENGRO (-11 points), FFC (-11 points), MLCF (-9 points), and LUCK (-9 points).