KARACHI: Pakistan stocks likely to wait outcome of talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during next week.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that a key event in the immediate term is the resumption of the IMF program.
The government is expected to review key demands of the IMF over the weekend.
Any positive outcome on that front is likely to bring back bulls to the market.
READ MORE: Pakistan stocks plunge 725 points on IMF program delay
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 4.0x (2023) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 13.0x while offering a dividend yield of 10.2 per cent versus 2.9 per cent offered by the region.
The market started on a positive note this week in anticipation of Pakistan and the IMF reaching a Staff Level Agreement (SLA), in particular, energy stocks propelled the market to rally in the hope that the circular debt issue gets cleared.
Moreover, the Pakistani Rupee appreciated by PKR 7.3 | 2.7 per cent WoW against USD, closing the week at 269.3.
However, on Thursday talks concluded and the IMF left Pakistan without reaching an agreement, which caused the market to spiral in the last trading session.
READ MORE: Pakistan stocks gain 743 points on expectations of IMF tranche release
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week recorded an increase of 2.82 per cent due to an increase in the prices of food items.
Furthermore, the SBP reserves showcased a reduction of USD 170 million, to settle at USD 2.9 billion. That said, the market closed at 41,742 points, up by 1,271 points | 3.14 per cent WoW.
Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (459 points), ii) Technology & Communication (260 points), iii) Commercial Banks (252 points), iv) Cement (78 points), and iv) Pharmaceuticals (70 points).
Whereas, the sectors which contributed negatively were i) Power Generation & Distribution (71 points) and ii) Sugar & Allied Industries (3 points).
READ MORE: Pakistan equities gain 200 points amid optimism on IMF loan
Scrip-wise positive contributors were OGDC (259 points), SYS (152 points), HBL (103 points), TRG (99 points), and PPL (97 points).
Meanwhile, scrip-wise negative contribution came from HUBC (75 points), ENGRO (51 points), UPFL (12 points), EFUG (11 points), and JVDC (6).
Foreigners buying continued during this week, clocking in at USD 3.2 million compared to a net buy of USD 0.9 million last week. Major buying was witnessed in Exploration & Production (USD 4.8 million) and Commercial Banks (USD 2.6 million).
READ MORE: Pakistan stocks witness bull-run on hopes of IMF tranche
On the local front, selling was reported by Insurance Companies (USD 6.5 million) followed by Mutual Funds (USD 5.2 million).
Average volumes arrived at 284 million shares (up 111 per cent WoW) while the average value traded settled at USD 44.4 million (up 94 per cent WoW).
