Weekly Review: share market likely rebound sharply on successful PM confidence vote

Weekly Review: share market likely rebound sharply on successful PM confidence vote

KARACHI: The share market likely to rebound after Prime Minister Imran Khan successfully attained vote of confidence from the parliament on Saturday.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that a fresh vote of confidence in the PM and his government is certain to stimulate renewed confidence and optimism in the investment climate.

However markets could witness pressure in the case of an adverse outcome. Our top picks are HBL, MCB, UBL, OGDC, MARI, KAPCO, HUBC, FFC, LUCK, ENGRO, NML, ILP, and PSO.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is currently trading at a PER of 7.1x (2021) compared to Asia Pac regional average of 17.2x and while offering DY of ~6.8 percent versus ~4.8 percent offered by the region.

The domestic bourse started the week on a positive note amid expectations of a successful senate election for the ruling government. However the results were a major surprise with the ruling government facing a setback on the hotly contested Islamabad seat, which sent the market tumbling.

PM Imran Khan’s decision to seek a vote of confidence and expectations of success helped rebound sentiment starkly on Friday. The benchmark KSE-100 index closed the week nominally down (-28 points WoW), settling at 45,837 points.

Sector-wise positive contributions came from i) Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (54 points), ii) Power (45 points), and iii) Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (32 points). Whereas sectors that contributed negatively include i) Cement (85 points), ii) Pharmaceuticals (39 points), and iii) Textile weaving (16 points). Scrip-wise positive contributors were KAPCO (42 points), TRG (40 points) and BAFL (39 points) while negative contributors included LUCK (45 points), UBL (41 points) and HBL (37 points).

Foreign selling continued this week clocking-in at USD 10.7 million compared to a net buy of USD 0.3 million last week. Selling was witnessed in Commercial Banks (USD 10.1 million) and Technology and Communication (USD 2.2 million). On the domestic front, major buying was reported by Insurance Companies (USD 8.4 million) and Banks / DFIs (USD 8.0 million). Average volumes arrived at 386 million shares (down by 35 percent WoW) while average value traded settled at USD 129 million (down by 19 percent WoW).