Stock market gains 322 points on cut in refinance rate

Stock market gains 322 points on cut in refinance rate

KARACHI: The stock market gained 322 points on Wednesday owing to improved sentiments of investors after reduction in refinance rates announced by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 35,695 points as against 35,374 points showing an increase of 322 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market gained another 330 points during the session and closed near session’s high at +322 points.

Activity was observed almost across the board with Cement and Banks contributing the most. Steel, Pharma, Textile sectors also contributed to the rise.

SBP further reduced the rates for ERF facility to Banks, which improved the sentiment for the business community and indicates lowering of financial charges in FY21.

SBP is also scheduled for an MPC meeting in the ongoing month. Technology sector posted volumes of 67.7 million shares, followed by Cement (44.8 million) and Banks (31.8 million).

Among scrips, TRG topped 38.3 million shares, followed by PAEL (20.5 million) and MLCF (17.5 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+163 points), Autos (+30 points), Technology (+29 points), E&P (+21 points) and Pharma (+19 points).

Volumes declined slightly from 333.8 million shares to 317.7 million shares (-5 percent DoD). Average traded value, on the contrary, increased by 6 percent to reach US$ 78.2 million as against US$ 73.2 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TRG, PAEL, MLCF, JSCL and WTL, which formed 34 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HBL (+75 points), UBL (+35 points), PPL (+25 points), TRG (+24 points) and MTL (+20 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include LUCK (-15 points), HUBC (-10 points), ENGRO (-6 points), OGDC (-5 points), and NESTLE (-5 points).