Stocks close up amid hopes of Saudi forex support

Stocks turn positive on hopes of Saudi support amid the burgeoning forex crisis and the rise in global equities, traders said.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share index increased 0.42 percent or 173.75 points to close at 41,714.30 points against 41,540.55 points recorded in the last session. Intraday high was 41,772.84 points, while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 41,508.16 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks showed recovery led by selected scrips as investors weighed the bull run in global equities and likely Saudi financial support amid forex crises.”

Deliberations over the $10 billion Saudi Oil Refinery, Pak-Russia oil deal, approval of $554 million Asian Development Bank flood assistance and upbeat auto sales data for November 2022 played a catalytic role in the bullish close, he said.

KSE-30 index also increased by 77.22 points or 0.50 percent to stand at 15,430.69 points compared with 15,353.47 points recorded in the last session.

Traded shares increased by 11 million shares to 144.845 million shares from 133.556 million shares. Trading value rose to Rs3.756 billion from Rs3.236 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs6.636 trillion from Rs6.610 trillion. Out of 321 companies active in the session, 122 closed in green, 170 in red and 29 remained unchanged.

Analyst Ali Najib at Topline Securities said equities had a lacklustre day on Tuesday. “Investors opted for some profit-taking in the latter half of the day which pushed the benchmark index towards an intraday low at 41,512 (-28 points; down 0.06 percent) before eventually settling at 41,714 (+174 points; up 0.42 percent) for the day,” he added.

During the day, Engro Polymer and Chemicals, Millat Tractors, Fatima, Lotte Chemicals and Oil and Gas Development Company lost 56 points, cumulatively. On the flip side, Engro, Pakistan Services Limited and MCB Bank saw some buying interest as they added 138 points collectively.

The highest increase was recorded in Pak Services, up Rs84.53 to stand at Rs1,211.93/share, followed by Sapphire Fiber, up Rs78.75 to stand at Rs1,128.75/share. A significant decline was noted in Bata (Pakistan), down Rs49.92 to close at Rs1,650.08/share, followed by Premier Sugar, down Rs19.17 to close at Rs560/share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said another range-bound session was witnessed at the PSX.

“The market opened in the red, but soon the momentum changed as the market traded in the green throughout the day after political clarity,” it reported. “Although investor participation remained sluggish in the mainboard, on the contrary, 3rd tier stocks continued to dominate the volume board.”

Sectors contributing to the performance included fertilisers (+84.0 points), commercial banks (+64.0 points), miscellaneous (+43.9 points), technology and communications (+24.1pts) and tobaccos (+17.3 points).

PTCL remained the volume leader with 15.371 million shares. It scrip went up by 10 paisas to stand at Rs6.60/share. It was followed by Dewan Motors with 9.589 million shares that closed higher by Re1.02 to close at Rs17.70/share.

Other stocks that recorded significant turnover included WorldCall Telecom, Fauji Cement, TPL Properties, Summit Bank, Unity Foods Ltd, Hascol Petrol, Habib Bank and K-Electric Ltd.

Shares’ turnover in the future contracts increased to 28.249 million shares from 20.136 million shares.