Tag: PSX

ISLAMABAD: The stock market likely to stay range bound during the next week owing to scheduled announcement of the monetary policy statement

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

The monetary policy is scheduled on December 14, 2021, where the analysts project a hike of 100 basis points. Any increase in the benchmark policy rate exceeding that will further dampen the sentiment for highly levered stocks.

Furthermore, mini Budget is expected in the near future, where market will react to any introduction, re-imposition or removal of duties and subsidies.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 4.6x (2022) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 14.9x while offering a dividend yield of 8.8 per cent versus 2.2 per cent offered by the region.

The market commenced on a negative note, carrying the dullness from last week on account of widening of trade deficit and surge in inflation while an alleged Omicron case in Karachi further deteriorated the sentiment.

The momentum changed after news regarding the new COVID variant was deemed none lethal. Moreover, encouraging cement dispatches (displaying a 7 per cent YoY jump in November 2021) along with expectation of resolution of gas circular debt, kept the momentum positive at the index.

However, the rally could not be extended as nervousness took over in light of hike in policy rate tagged with continuous depreciation of Pak Rupee against USD (making a new low of PKR 177.71). Albeit, the market closed at 43,396 points, gaining 163 points (up by 0.38 per cent) WoW.

Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (320 points), ii) Technology & Communication (257 points), iii) Food & Personal Care Products (32 points), iv) Chemical (29 points), and v) Insurance (10 points). Whereas, sectors which contributed negatively were i) Commercial Banks (187 points) and ii) Cement (112 points). Scrip-wise positive contributors were TRG (208 points), PPL (155 points), OGDC (101 points), SYS (49 points) and MARI (34 points). Meanwhile, scrip-wise negative contribution came from ENGRO (66 points), HBL (64 points) and UBL (44 points).

Foreign selling continued this week, clocking-in at USD 1.0 million compared to a net sell of USD 62.84 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in Cement (USD 1.2 million), Fertilizer (USD 0.5 million) and E&P (USD 0.3 million).

On the local front, buying was reported by Other Organizations (USD 3.9 million) followed by Companies (USD 2.1 million) and Individuals (USD 1.3 million). Average volumes clocked-in at 204 million shares (down by 36 per cent WoW) while average value traded settled at USD 42 million (down by 54 per cent WoW).

Weekly Review: market likely to stay rang-bound

KARACHI: The stock market is likely to stay range-bound during the next week owing to the upcoming monetary policy decision and large trade deficit.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that with the Saudi Funds expected to arrive anytime soon, the market can rebound and the Pak Rupee slide will be contained.

Keeping in view macro-economic concerns investors are expected to have a cautious approach.

Albeit, it is expected the market to be range-bound in the upcoming week.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 4.6x (2022) compared to the Asia Pac regional average of 14.7x while offering a dividend yield of 8.8 versus 2.2 per cent offered by the region.

The market commenced on a positive note given the fall in the international oil prices amid an outbreak of the new COVID-19 variant ‘Omicron’, subsiding concerns over inflation.

Moreover, approval of the Saudi fund of $3 billion and expectation of it arriving soon kept the sentiment high. Furthermore, the government paid Rs135 billion as a second installment to the IPPs under the 1994 policy, which further boosted the momentum. In addition to this, the market was reclassified to Frontier Market during the week, which was expected to bring in foreign inflows.

However, the trade numbers released by the PBS for the month of November 2021 posted a massive jump in the imports to $8 billion (up by 94 per cent MoM) during the month, taking the trade deficit to an all-time high of $5.1 billion (up by 3x MoM) causing a bloodbath in the index (marking worst single-day fall after 20 months).

This along with a more-than-anticipated CPI figure of 11.53 per cent YoY (November 2021), created panic in the market as concerns over a massive hike started brewing up in upcoming monetary policy in December 2021.

Alongside this, Pak Rupee depreciated to an all-time low of Rs176.77, which further fueled the bearish sentiment. Albeit, the market closed at 43,233 points, losing 881 points (down by 2 per cent WoW).

Sector-wise negative contributions came from i) Technology and Communication (198 points), ii) Cement (165 points), iii) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (101 points), iv) Textile Composite (68 points), and v) Food & Personal Care Products (67 points). Whereas, sectors which contributed positively were i) Commercial Banks (59 points), and ii) Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (20 points). Scrip-wise negative contributors were LUCK (124 points), TRG (107 points), SYS (65 points), MARI (62 points) and POL (44 points). Meanwhile, scrip-wise positive contributions came from HBL (67 points), PSO (52 points) and UBL (40 points).

Foreign selling continued this week, clocking in at USD 62.8 million compared to a net sell of USD 39.2 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in Commercial Banks (USD 27.2 million) and Cement (USD 14.8 million). On the local front, buying was reported by Companies (USD 25.7 million) followed by Individuals (USD 16.0 million). Average volumes clocked in at 319 million shares (up by 21 per cent WoW) while average value traded settled at USD 90 million (up by 51 per cent WoW).

Stocks end flat amid bears rule over bulls

KARACHI: Stocks ended flat and on Friday as bears rule over the bulls during the day due to alarming current account deficit.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 43,233 points as against the previous day’s close of 43,234 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the bears ruled over the bulls today due to concerns over an alarming number of current account deficit, devaluation of Pak rupee, and a big jump in cut-off yields of treasury bills indicating a hawkish stance in the upcoming monetary policy.

Yesterday, a sharp downfall in the market occurred due to a sell-off by mutual funds which eventually created an attractive opportunity for value hunters.

The market opened on a positive note as value hunters did aggressive buying in the first session.

In the second session, across the board selling was witnessed as PKR closed at an all-time low of 176.77, down 0.2 per cent DoD.

Moving forward, the analysts expect the market to remain volatile and recommend a cautious approach.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (-180 points), Technology (-63 points), Engineering (-35 points), Textile Composite (-31 points) and Refinery (-25 points).

Volumes decreased from 386.8 million shares to 287.7 million shares (25.6 per cent DoD). Traded value also decreased by 26.9 per cent to reach US$ 58.1 million as against US$ 79.6 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, TPLP, BYCO, UNITY and TRG.

Pakistan stock exchange crashes; ends down 4.71%

KARACHI: The share market witnessed an increase of 297 points on Wednesday due to trading activity seen in the banking sector following an unexpected rise in inflation.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 45,369 points as against the previous day’s closing of 45,072 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the KSE-100 index stayed in the green zone throughout the day as the market celebrated the transition from emerging to frontier market.

The index opened with a bullish momentum as traders took an aggressive bet on cement, steel, and technology stocks.

Later, accumulation was witnessed in the banking sector as CPI for the month of November 2021 clocked in at 11.53 per cent YoY (+3 per cent MoM), the highest inflation in 21 months influenced by a record hike in fuel prices.

In the last trading hour, a sharp upside was witnessed as short-sellers jumped into square-off trading positions.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (+113 points), Commercial Banks (+85 points), Fertilizer (+32 points), E&P (+20 points) and Power (+16 points).

Volumes decreased from 411.5 million shares to 241.1 million shares (-41.4 per cent DoD). Traded value also decreased by 73.5 per cent to reach US$ 52.6 million as against US$ 198.4 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include FFL, FFLR1, TPLP, MLCF and TRG.

Shares fall 258 points amid hefty volumes