Stocks extended gains to a third straight session on Tuesday as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sees IMF bailout deal this month, while pre-budget whispers about a likely relief in inter-corporate dividend from multiple taxes also contributed in the bullish close, traders said.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index gained 255.52 points or 0.61 percent to 41,923.46 points against 41,667.94 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 42,026.94 points while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 41,751.21 points.
Ahsan Mehanti, an analyst at Arif Habib Corp, said, “Stocks closed higher after PM confident over finalising IMF bailout deal this month and for-see FY24 as a year of economic progress.” Cement stocks and industrials outperformed on proposed Rs 950 billion Public Sector Development Programme allocations in the federal budget. He added that reports of Rs13.8 trillion record federal budget FY24 outlay and 3.5 percent growth projections for FY24 had played a catalyst role in the bullish close.
KSE-30 index also increased by 74.25 points or 0.50 percent to 14,872.70 points compared with 14,798.45 points recorded in the last session. Traded shares increased by 95 million shares to 240.829 million shares from 145.177 million shares. The trading value increased to Rs7.152 billion from Rs4.682 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs6.367 trillion from Rs6.330 trillion. Out of 331 companies active in the session, 198 closed in green, 114 in red and 19 remained unchanged.
Analyst Ali Najib at Topline Securities said it was a 3rd consecutive bullish session at equities where the KSE100 index carried forward bullish momentum. The benchmark index opened on a positive note and made an intraday high at 42,097 to break the 42k level (last seen on May 17th, 2023).
“News regarding likely relief in inter-corporate dividend from multiple taxes in the upcoming budget kept the blue-chips’ stocks in the limelight throughout the day,” Najib said. However, in the latter half of the trading session, investors opted to do some profit-taking at the aforesaid levels which pushed the benchmark index below the 42k level.
During the day, ENGRO, PSO, BAHL, TRG & EFERT added 135 points, cumulatively. On the flip side, HUBC, SYS and MCB witnessed some selling and lost 33 points collectively. The highest increase was recorded in Unilever Foods shares, which rose by Rs950 to Rs23,000 per share, followed by Bata (Pak), which increased by Rs33.50 to Rs1,664 per share. A significant decline was noted in Sapphire Fiber, which fell by Rs34.97 to Rs1,225.01 per share, followed by ZIL Limited, which decreased by Rs22 to Rs317 per share.
Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said Tuesday's trading session at the PSX was another success. “The market opened in the green and continued to trade in the green throughout the day, courtesy of favourable news about the resumption of the long-stalled IMF programme,” it reported. “Investor activity was strong throughout the day as the whisper of good budget for capital kept the index moving.”
Across the board, healthy volumes were recorded. Sectors contributing to the performance included fertiliser (+64.8 points), oil marketing companies (+43.7 points), refinery (+25.6 points), chemical (+22.6 points) and cement (+16.5 points).
WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 24.434 million shares which closed lower by one paisa to Rs1.15 per share. It was followed by Pak Refinery with 20.519 million shares, which closed higher by 70 paisas to Rs15.06 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included Cnergyico PK, Pak Petroleum, Pak Elektron, Oil & Gas Dev., Modaraba Al-Mal, Maple Leaf, P.S.O. and Telecard Limited. Shares’ turnover in the future contracts increased to 59.889 million shares from 39.864 million shares.