KARACHI:
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday skyrocketed to another record high above 69,000 points just a day ahead of Eid holidays as investors took cue from the prime minister’s visit to Saudi Arabia and talks over a $1 billion Saudi investment in Reko Diq mining project.
In the morning, after kicking off trading on a positive note, the KSE-100 index briefly dipped to the intra-day low of 68,710.49 points before a highly bullish momentum took over the market.
Factors such as a surge in Brent crude oil prices to above $90 per barrel, higher banking spreads and a high court ruling in favour of pharmaceutical companies regarding the deregulation of non-essential medicine prices fueled the market’s gains.
Although some profit-taking took place early in the day, the investors engaged in strategic value hunting, particularly focusing on blue-chip stocks of oil, banking and pharmaceutical companies, which aided the index’s advance towards north.
It resulted in the index climbing past the 69,000 barrier, reaching the intra-day high at 69,720.03 points right before the close of trading.
“Stocks closed at an all-time high, led by blue-chip oil, banking and pharma shares as investors weighed the PM’s visit to Saudi Arabia and deliberations over a $1 billion Reko Diq investment deal with Saudi Arabia, along with Oil and Gas Development Company and Pakistan Petroleum share offerings,” said Ahsan Mehanti, MD of Arif Habib Corp.
“Surge in Brent crude prices to above $90, higher banking spreads and a high court case vacated against pharmaceutical manufacturers over deregulation of non-essential medicine prices played the role of catalysts in bullish close at the PSX.”
Read PSX surges to all-time high, crosses 69,000 points
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a surge of 1,203.20 points, or 1.76%, and settled at 69,619.99.
Topline Securities, in its report, said that Pakistan equities kicked off a shorter week – with just two trading sessions before Eid holidays – with a bang.
“Investors opted to further strengthen their equity positions by doing value hunting across the board, especially in blue-chip stocks,” it said.
Consequently, fertiliser, power, banking and technology sectors contributed positively as Fauji Fertiliser, Hub Power, MCB Bank, Systems Limited and Meezan Bank added 486 points to the index.
On the flip side, Dawood Hercules Corporation, Engro Fertilisers and Engro Corporation lost 85 points as they saw some profit-taking, Topline added.
In its review, Arif Habib Limited (AHL) said there was “a very strong session in what will be a two-day trading week ahead of Eid holidays.”
“Participation was seen across the board as the market moves towards the 70,000 level,” it said. Some 74 shares rose while 21 fell with Fauji Fertiliser (+4.89%), Hub Power (+3.2%) and MCB Bank (+4.59%) being the biggest contributors to index gains.
The standout sector was pharmaceutical where Searl (+7.1%), AGP Limited (+5.13%) and Abbott Laboratories (+4.86%) gained significant ground following a Lahore High Court ruling in favour of the pharma sector, which vacated a stay order against the deregulation of maximum retail prices, AHL added.
JS Global analyst Muhammad Shuja Qureshi said that it was another record-breaking session at the PSX with the benchmark KSE-100 gaining 1,203 points to close at 69,620.
“We may see some profit-taking, although we anticipate that the overall market sentiment will remain positive,” the analyst added.
Overall trading volumes decreased to 335.8 million shares against Thursday’s tally of 388.7 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs15.3 billion.
Shares of 345 companies were traded. Of these, 203 stocks closed higher, 123 dropped and 19 remained unchanged.
PTCL was the volume leader with trading in 33.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.83 to close at Rs17.02. It was followed by The Searle Company with 21.1 million shares, gaining Rs4.1 to close at Rs61.86 and WorldCall Telecom with 18.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs1.38.
Foreign investors were net buyers of shares worth Rs473.96 million, according to the NCCPL.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2024.
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