Weekly Review: market likely to stay positive

Weekly Review: market likely to stay positive

KARACHI: The stock market is likely to stay positive during the next week owing to results season with expectations of better earnings.

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

With commencement of the result season, certain sectors and scrips are expected to stay under limelight.

Moreover, any update with regards to IMF’s 6th review will have an impact on the market.

January 14, 2022: Stocks ends flat in volatile trading

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 5.2x (2022) compared to Asia Pacific regional average of 14.1x while offering a dividend yield of ~8.6 per cent versus ~2.3 per cent offered by the region.

The market commenced on a positive note this week. However, the momentum shifted to red zone given delay in IMF’s review.

January 13, 2022: Pakistan stocks fall on corona cases record 4-month high

Alongside this, resurgence of higher COVID-19 cases (especially Omicron variant) raised expectation of a potential imposition of restrictions and smart lockdown.

However, the sentiment once again turned positive after the Finance Supplementary Bill (mini-Budget) got passed despite strong protest by opposition, ending the uncertainty.

January 12, 2022: Stocks gain 35 points amid profit taking

Moreover, auto numbers depicted a massive growth in the month of Dec’21 of 96 per cent YoY/ 46 per cent MoM. Furthermore, hike in Arab Light prices to USD 86.16/bbl generated activity in the E&P sector. Lastly, Pak Rupee appreciated to PKR 176.07 against USD. The market closed at 45,763 points, gaining 418 points (up by 0.9 per cent) WoW.

Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Commercial Bank (328 points), ii) Miscellaneous (54 points), iii) Chemical (50 points), iv) Power Generation & Distribution (47 points), and v) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (37 points). Whereas, sectors which contributed negatively were i) Cement (67 points), ii) Technology & Communication (64 points) and iii) Fertilizer (26 points). Scrip-wise positive contributors were HBL (87 points), MCB (73 points), PSEL (57 points), HUBC (43 points) and COLG (39 points). Meanwhile, scrip-wise negative contribution came from SYS (53 points), LUCK (38 points) and ENGRO (33 points).

January 11, 2022: Stocks remain volatile amid rising Omicron cases

Foreign remained net buyers this week, clocking-in at USD 0.53 million compared to a net buy of USD 24.2 million last week. Major buying was witnessed in Technology (USD 0.5 million) and Power (USD 0.4 million). On the local front, selling was reported by Mutual Funds (USD 9.9 million) followed by Companies (USD 2.4 million). Average volumes clocked-in at 356 million shares (up by 12 per cent WoW) while average value traded settled at USD 51 million (down by 12 per cent WoW).

January 10, 2022: KSE-100 index gains 542 points in hefty buying