Stocks end higher, track gains of peers in the region

Stocks finished the session higher on Friday, led by technology and energy shares, tracking an overnight Wall Street rally and gains in peers in the region.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index closed higher by 191.68 points or 0.45 percent to 43,092.95 points against 42,901.27 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 43,122.57 points while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 42,805.09 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said stock closed higher amid bull run in global equities and surging global crude oil prices.

"Corporate pledges over share buybacks and speculations of likely record deals upon Saudi Crown Prince MBS's visit next week played a catalytic role in the bullish activity."

However, mid session pressure remained on reports of a fall in remittances for October, falling FX reserves and rupee instability.

The KSE-30 index also increased by 137.49 points or 0.88 percent to 15,798.48 points compared with 15,660.99 points recorded in the last session.

Traded shares decreased by 61 million shares to 232.788 million shares from 293.900 million shares.

The trading value dropped to Rs7.625 billion from Rs10.212 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs6.897 trillion from Rs6.846 trillion. Out of 341 companies active in the session, 172 closed in green, 142 in red and 27 remained unchanged.

Analyst Nabeel Haroon at Topline Securities said the benchmark largely traded in a positive zone during the trading session to close at 43,093 level (up by 0.45 percent).

The major contribution to the index came from TRG, OGDC, PPL, PSO and NESTLE, as they cumulatively contributed 256 points to the index. On the flip side, PSEL, HUBC, FABL, BAFL and THALL cumulatively lost value to weigh down on the index by 61 points.

The highest increase was recorded in shares of Nestle PakistanXD, which rose by Rs249 to Rs5,900 per share, followed by Pak Tobacco, which increased by Rs39.33 to Rs939.33 per share. A significant decline was noted in shares of Bata (Pak)XD, which fell by Rs99 to Rs1,901 per share, followed by Pak Services, which decreased by Rs62.25 to Rs767.75 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said nother positive day was witnessed at the PSX on Friday. “The market opened in the positive territory although lacklustre activity was noticed which led the index to lose 96.39 points at the close of the opening trading session.

However, the benchmark KSE-100 did rebound once the trading resumed as investors resurfaced following the Finance Minister’s announcement of a $13 billion package from China and Saudi Arabia,” the brokerage said in a post market report.

“Volumes were stable overall, while healthy activity was observed in the oil & exploration companies.”

Sectors contributing to the performance included E&P’s (+129.3 points), technology & communication (+98.4 points), OMC’s (+22.8 points), tobacco (+13.1 points) and food & personal care products (+12.8 points).

Cnergyico PK remained the volume leader with 21.136 million shares that increased by 4 paisas to Rs5.13 per share. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 17.903 million shares that closed lower by 4 paisas to Rs1.55 per share.

Other stocks that recorded significant turnover included TPL Properties, Pak Refinery, Oil & Gas Dev.XD, Hascol Petrol, Pak Petroleum, Dewan Motors, Bank Al-Falah and Ghani Glo Hol.

Shares’ turnover in the future contracts decreased to 56.523 million shares from 66.616 million shares.