By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a strong return of bullish activity on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossing the historic 97,000 mark during intraday trading.
The market opened with a bearish sentiment, and the KSE-100 Index initially dropped by nearly 250 points in the early trading hours.
However, investor sentiment shifted as buying momentum gradually returned, pushing the index to a high of 97,030.19 points. The KSE-100 index gained 1483.74 points in the intra-day trading.
Analysts attributed this rally to easing concerns among investors regarding the political protest scheduled for November 24, which had initially contributed to market uncertainty.
The market’s recovery came as a relief to investors, who had been cautious due to the potential impact of the upcoming protest on the country’s political landscape.
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a strong positive movement today as the KSE-100 index surged by 1.14%, with a current index of 96,634.61 points during intra day trading.
On 12;30 pm, the index experienced a notable increase of 1,088.16 points compared to the previous day’s close of 95,546.45 points.
The market reached a high of 96,634.61 points and a low of 95,300.21 points during trading.
Trading volume stood at 136,457,756 shares, with a total value of 8.25 billion PKR.
Yesterday on wednesday, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday saw volatile trading as the benchmark KSE-100 index initially surged on strong buying interest but ultimately closed lower by more than 300 points due to profit-taking and political uncertainty.
Additionally, the bourse felt pressure from above-average foreign corporate selling, which pushed the index into the red zone.
After commencing proceedings on a positive note, the index climbed to the intra-day high of 96,711.33 points, rising significantly during the early morning trading. However, profit-taking set in around midday, driven by political noise, which pulled the index to the intra-day low of 95,311.97.
Despite a brief rally that saw the index make some recovery, the market closed down by 310 points.
“Stocks closed bearish on political uncertainty and security concerns in the country,” said Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti.
Rupee instability, foreign outflows and the pending IMF board decision on Pakistan’s alternative tax levies, along with bridging the $2.5 billion external financing gap, contributed to the bearish activity, he added.
At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a loss of 310.21 points, or 0.32%, and stood at 95,546.46.
Topline Securities, in its commentary, noted that the KSE-100 index closed with a decline of 310 points.
The market experienced notable volatility, with the index reaching the peak of 96,711 and low of 95,312, as investors remained cautious ahead of the political protest scheduled for November 24, it said. Additionally, heavier-than-usual foreign corporate selling a day ago added to the pressure.
Systems Limited, Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Lucky Cement, MCB Bank and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) dragged the index down by 348 points. However, Fauji Fertiliser Company, Colgate-Palmolive and Kot Addu Power Company offset the losses, by adding 354 points to the index, Topline said.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL), in its report, wrote that supply above 96,000 saw the KSE-100 retreat 0.3% day-on-day.
Some 28 shares rose while 70 declined, with the biggest downside contributions being Systems Limited (-4%), HBL (-3.02%) and Lucky Cement (-1.7%).
AHL mentioned that the Islamabad High Court granted bail to former prime minister Imran Khan in a case of concealing his income. The court ordered his release from jail, but it was unclear whether he would be freed as he was facing charges in more than 100 cases.
Besides, banks were imposing a new fee on large accounts to discourage deposit inflows because they wanted to increase their advance-to-deposit ratio (ADR) to avoid a punitive tax, AHL added.
JS Global analyst Mubashir Anis Naviwala highlighted that the KSE-100 index, after touching an all-time intra-day high of 96,711, faced a downward trend, mainly led by profit-taking, which dragged it down to 95,312. Finally, the index settled at 95,546, down 310 points.
The analyst advised investors to consider a buy-on-dips approach, with a focus on banking, exploration and production, pharmaceutical and fertiliser stocks.
Overall trading volumes surged to 1,138 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 830.9 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs37.5 billion.
Shares of 456 companies were traded. Of these, 156 stocks closed higher, 251 fell and 49 remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with trading in 174.4 million shares, losing Rs0.02 to close at Rs5.22. It was followed by Hascol Petroleum with trading in 63.97 million shares, gaining Rs1.02 to close at Rs11.26 and Kohinoor Spinning Mills with 62.99 million shares, gaining Rs0.87 to close at Rs8.98.
During the day, foreign investors were net sellers of shares worth Rs1.21 billion, according to the NCCPL.
