KARACHI: The stock market likely to stay in green zone during next week as coronavirus cases are receding and investors are optimistic on inflows from international financial institutions.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market to remain positive in the upcoming week.

Since COVID-19 cases have started to decline day-on-day basis, investment sentiment is expected to improve. With inflow of funds from ADB and World Bank, PKR/USD parity is expected to stabilize in the upcoming week.

With monetary policy announced we expect investors to cherry pick scrips from Cements, OMCs and Fertilizers sector.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 7.2x (2020) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 12.6x and while offering DY of ~6.5 percent versus ~2.8 percent offered by the region.

The market commenced on a positive note this week. However, sentiments turned negative amid plunge in international oil prices during the mid-week.

Furthermore pressure from downturn in international markets owing to concerns over a possible second wave of COVID-19 was also felt in local bourse.

With monetary aid received during the week from ADB and World Bank worth USD 1bn followed by current account turning surplus with USD 13 million in May 2020, sentiments shifted towards green side.

Along with this, SBP’s announcement of 100 bps cut provided further fuel to sentiment. Furthermore, extension in FATF’s deadline also provided breather to investors.

The market settled at 33,939 points, gaining 501 points (up by 1.5 percent) WoW.

Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Fertilizer (326 points), ii) Cements (108 points), iii) Power Generation & Distribution (46 points), iv) Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (34 points) and Auto Assemblers (31 points).

However, sector-wise negative contribution came from i) Commercial Banks (90 points), ii) Tobacco (13 points) and iii) Pharmaceuticals (8 points). Scrip-wise positive contributions were led by FFC (101 points), ENGRO (95 points), DAWH (78 points), EFERT (47 points) and HUBC (44 points).

Foreign selling continued this week clocking-in at USD 9.9 million compared to a net sell of USD 4.8 million last week. Selling was witnessed in Fertilizer (USD 2.7 million) and Commercial Banks (USD 2.6 million).

On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Insurance Companies (USD 7.0 million) and Mutual Funds (USD 3.4 million). Average Volumes settled at 177 million shares (down by 23 percent WoW) while average value traded clocked-in at USD 35 million (down by 16 percent WoW).

KARACHI: The stock market gained 230 points on Friday after the central bank announced a surprise cut in interest rate a day earlier.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,939 points as against 33,709 points showing an increase of 230 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the surprise rate cut by SBP post market yesterday, had the market open +319 points with 3.8 million shares traded on the opening bell.

Cyclicals (Cement & Steel), which have had high leverage ratios in the past couple years were largely the beneficiaries of this rate cut and therefore reflected the same positivity in the market as well.

MLCF and DGKC did the most volumes in the Cement sector stocks. E&P sector that could have benefited from the overnight bounce back in international crude prices failed to reciprocate and had a muted response during the session.

Banking sector stocks, on the other hand, declined further as a result of Policy rate cut but couldn’t place significant volumes on the bourse.

Today, also happened to be the last day of the roll-over week but didn’t cause much of an impact on stock prices.

Cement sector led the volumes with 43.9M shares, followed by Technology (23.8 million) and Refinery (14.4 million). MLCF topped the volumes with 15.2 million shares, followed by PRLR (13 million) and DGKC (12.6 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Fertilizer (+109 points), Cement (+93 points), Power (+43 points), O&GMCs (+15 points) and Pharma (+13 points).

Volumes increased from 168.4 million shares to 198.2 million shares (+17 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 28 percent to reach US$ 40.5 million as against US$ 31.5 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, PRLR1, DGKC, UNITY and TRG, which formed 31 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include FFC (+57 points), HUBC (+43 points), ENGRO (+40 points), LUCK (+31 points) and DGKC (+26 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BAFL (-20 points), HBL (-18 points), DAWH (-16 points), UBL (-12 points), and MEBL (-11 points).

KARACHI: The equity market ended down by 325 points on Thursday following decline in global stock markets and ease in international oil prices.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,710 points as against 34,034 points showing a decline of 325 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market followed the downtrend witnesses in global stock markets, especially taking negative effect of international crude prices that shed US$3/bbl overnight.

E&P, O&GMCs and Refinery sectors sustained price loss. Cement sector stocks showed some price performance on the back of anticipated increase in cement dispatches in the ongoing month. Overall, selling activity was observed across the board.

Post session, SBP announced further rate cut of 100bps to 7 percent, which does give an explanation for a more than usual negativity in the banking scrips, particularly in HBL, MCB and BAFL.

As have been the practice during the past few sessions, institutional investors are seem more interested in moderate closure to FY20 and therefore execute trades of marked-to-market nature than even driven trades.

Technology stocks again led the volumes with 51.7 million shares, followed by Cement (15 million) and Refinery (11.4 million). Among scrips, WTL came forward with 19.5 million shares, followed by HUMNL (13.4 million) and TRG (12.5 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-86 points), Banks (-55 points), Power (-39 points), Food (-39 points) and Fertilizer (-30 points).

Volumes declined from 195.7 million shares to 168.4 million shares (-15 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 9 percent to reach US$ 31.5 million as against US$ 34.5 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, HUMNL, TRG, PRLR1 and KEL, which formed 37 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include DAWH (+12 points), EFERT (+9 points), COLG (+5 points), ABOT (+3 points) and SRVI (+3 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HUBC (-37 points), NESTLE (-35 points), OGDC (-34 points), MCB (-30 points), and PPL (-27 points).

KARACHI: The stock market ended down on Wednesday amid dull trading activities during the day.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 34,034 points as against 34,052 points showing a decline of 18 points.

Market traded in a narrow range between +108 points and -115 points, closing the session -18 points. Activity remained dull throughout the session, primarily due to absence of a strong trigger ahead.

During the session, news of trade surplus added a bit of excitement but selling pressure kept the prices in check. International crude oil prices also saw attrition during trading hours, which brought E&P stocks below yesterday’s closing prices.

Fertilizer stocks performed well, among which DAWH hit upper circuit, whereas buying interest was also observed in ENGRO.

Technology sector topped the volumes with 34.9 million shares, followed by Food (16.7 million) and Refinery (14.4 million). Among scrips, TRG realized 16.4 million shares, followed by UNITY (12.6 million) and PRLR (11.8 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (-44 points), Banks (-33 points), Power (-20 points), Cement (-13 points) and Pharma (-12 points).

Volumes increased from 160.6 million shares to 195.7 million shares (+19 percent DoD). Average traded value increased by merely 1 percent to reach US$ 34.6 million as against US$ 33.5 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TRG, UNITY, PRLR1, TPL and ASC, which formed 30 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include DAWH (+62 points), NESTLE (+40 points), ENGRO (+27 points), APL (+10 points) and EFERT (+10 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include PPL (-20 points), HUBC (-18 points), HBL (-16 points), OGDC (-13 points), and PAKT (-9 points).

KARACHI: The stock market gained 315 points on Tuesday amid thin volumes because of fiscal year end.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 34,053 points as against 33,738 points showing an increase of +315 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market followed the momentum made yesterday.

Traded volume remained thin as have been the case in the past couple of sessions, mainly due to financial year end marked to market valuation of portfolio scrips by institutional investors.

Among E&P Stocks, OGDC came in limelight with price gains, which was aided by an upward move in international crude oil prices. Similarly, PSO also witnessed price gains during the session.

Banking sector stocks also traded largely in the positive territory. Technology sector stocks topped the volumes with 20.9 million shares, followed by Cement (15.5 million) and Chemical (14.2 million).

Among scrips, TRG led the volumes with 11.8 million shares, followed by UNITY (11 million) and MLCF (6.9 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+68 points), Cement (+38 points), O&GMCs (+35 points), Power (+29 points) and Banks (+27 points).

Volumes declined from 161.2 million shares to 160.6 million shares (-0.8 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 9 percent to reach US$ 33.5 million as against US$ 36.5 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include TRG, UNITY, MLCF, PAEL and PRLR1, which formed 26 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include OGDC (+36 points), HUBC (+29 points), FFC (+22 points), TRG (+20 points) and MEBL (+19 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include ENGRO (-10 points), PAKT (-8 points), PMPK (-5 points), BAHL (-5 points), and THALL (-5 points).

KARACHI: The stock market increased by 299 points on Monday after making recovery of intra-day losses.

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KARACHI: Trading activities likely witness positive sentiments during upcoming week as political uncertainty may settle down, analysts said.

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KARACHI: The stock market fell by 101 points on Friday as re-imposition of lockdown dimmed prospects of quick economic recovery.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,439 points as against 33,540 points showing a decline of 101 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market remained range bound throughout the session, trading between +160 points and -170 points, closing the session -101 points.

Re-imposition of lock down has dimmed the prospects of quick economic recovery / stabilization.

Expectation of rate cut renewed in the early part of the session with the possibility of an emergent meeting at SBP taking place anytime next week.

International crude prices also realized an increase of US$1 / bbl, but oil stocks barely moved on the spike.

FTSE rebalancing also created some excitement, but against expectation didn’t affect the banking sector much.

Brisk buying was observed in both MCB and BAFL. Banking sector led the volumes with 12.7 million shares, followed by Technology (10.4 million) and Power (10.2 million).

Among scrips, KEL posted 9.1 million shares, followed by UNITY (7.2 million) and BAFL (5.7 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+39 points), Banks (+15 points), Inv Banks (-25 points), Cement (-24 points), Fertilizer (-21 points), O&GMCs (-21 points) and Pharma (-16 points).

Volumes dropped from 216.2 million shares to 105.9 million shares (-51 percent DOD). Average traded value also declined by 49 percent to reach US$ 20 million as against US$ 38.9 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include KEL, UNITY, BAFL, PRLR 1, BGL, which formed 30 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include MCB (+39 points), BAFL (+13 points), PPL (+12 points), POL (+11 points) and OGDC (+10 points).

Stocks that contributed negatively include DAWH (-25 points), UBL (-17 points), LUCK (-16 points), EFERT (-15 points), and MEBL (-13 points).

KARACHI: The stock market fell by 309 points on Thursday due to political uncertainty and imposition of smart lockdown in various parts of the country.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,539 points as against 33,848 points showing a decline of 309 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market shed 377 points again during the session and closed -309 points. Political uncertainty amid emergency lockdown in different parts of the country caused investors to rethink decisions.

In addition, rupee parity also dropped to 166.35 that showed US$ as a preferred store of value for investors as against equities.

Vanaspati sector continued leading the volumes on the bourse, which is primarily driven by UNITY. A total of 23.9 million shares of UNITY traded today.

Technology sector followed Vanaspati in terms of traded volumes with 22.9 million shares, trailed by Banks (22.2 million). Among scrips, MDTL and BOP followed UNITY with 9.9 million and 8.3 million shares respectively.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-86 points), Fertilizer (-59 points), Power (-49 points), E&P (-36 points) and OMC’s (-24 points).

Volumes dropped from 340.8 million shares to 216.2 million shares (-37 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 36 percent to reach US$ 38.9 million as against US$ 61 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, MDTL, BOP, JSCL and HASCOL, which formed 26 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include DAWH (+18 points), HBL (+14 points), AGP (+6 points), GLAXO (+5 points) and FML (+3 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BAHL (-45 points), HUBC (-44 points), FFC (-21 points), UBL (-18 points), and PPL (-16 points).

KARACHI: The equity market ended down by 170 points on Wednesday owing to uncertainty after a political party announced to leave government coalition.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 33,849 points as against 34,019 points showing a decline of 170 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market made a strong come back today by registering an increase of 377 points, however, BNP Mengal’s decision to leave PTI Coalition government caused jitters in the market.

The index lost all the gains made during the session and sustained a loss of -243 points, closing the session -170 points.

Political uncertainty amid Corona crisis and border skirmishes between China and India have cumulatively dented the investor sentiment for the moment.

Rupee parity also crossed 165 during the day, whereas international crude prices also picked pace, which in turn caused E&P stocks to post gains. Vanaspati sector topped the volumes with 43.9 million shares, followed by Inv Banks (35.5 million) and Chemical (34.8 million).

Among scrips, UNITY led the volumes with 43.9 million shares, followed by JSCL (28.9 million) and PRL R1 (13.8 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (-77 points), Cement (-50 points), Fertilizer (-42 points), O&GMCs (-15 points) and Technology (-9 points).

Volumes increased from 217.9 million shares to 340.8 million shares (+56 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 55 percent to reach US$ 61.0 million as against US$ 39.4 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, JSCL, PRLR1, AGL and NRSL, which formed 32 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include NESTLE (+10 points), HUBC (+10 points), OGDC (+10 points), SEARL (+9 points) and PMPK (+8 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include MCB (-42 points), ENGRO (-26 points), UBL (-25 points), FFC (-17 points), and HBL (-15 points).