Karachi, February 2, 2024 – The Pakistan stock market witnessed a significant surge on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) gaining 609 points to extend the positive trading rally.
The market closed at an impressive 63,003 points, up from the previous day’s closing of 62,394 points.
Analysts at Topline Securities Limited noted that the KSE-100 Index continued its upward trajectory, largely trading in the positive zone during the session and closing at 63,002 points, reflecting a 0.98 percent increase. The overall participation in the market by investors remained at the lower end, as many chose to remain on the sidelines in anticipation of the upcoming general election scheduled for February 8th.
Trading volume and value for the day stood at 263 million shares (down by 2.6% on Day-on-Day basis) and Rs.10.72 billion (down by 7.65% on Day-on-Day basis), respectively. Despite the cautious approach of investors, major positive contributions to the index came from companies such as MTL, EFERT, OGDC, MCB, and LUCK, collectively contributing 299 points. KEL emerged as today’s volume leader with 26.5 million shares traded.
However, the week-on-week performance of the KSE 100 index showed a decline of -1.27 percent. Analysts attribute this decline to selling by foreign corporates and investors opting to exit the market ahead of the upcoming election on February 8th, 2024.
Several economic indicators during the week added to the market dynamics. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for January 2024 was reported at 28.34% YoY, showing a slight decrease from 29.66% in December 2023. Additionally, Pakistan’s trade deficit for January 2024 was reported at US$1.9 billion, marking a 25% YoY decrease while witnessing a 7% Month-on-Month increase in January 2024, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Investor participation declined during the outgoing week, with the average daily traded volume and value standing at 313 million shares (down by 25% on Week-on-Week basis) and Rs.11.5 billion (down by 43% on Week-on-Week basis), respectively.
As the market navigates through fluctuations, investors are keenly observing the economic indicators and political developments leading up to the general election, expecting further impact on market sentiment in the coming days.
