Stocks snap losing streak as bargain hunters pounce

Stocks ended higher on Thursday after a volatile session, as investors picked up bargains in the late trade and shrugged off earlier losses, dealers said.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index gained 245.56 points or 0.39 percent to close at 62,693.57 points, recovering from a low of 61,750.97 points. The KSE-30 index also increased by 45.27 points or 0.22 percent to close at 20,939.03 points.

Traded shares decreased by 375 million shares to 812.383 billion shares from 1.187 billion shares. The trading value decreased to Rs16.687 billion from Rs26.038 billion. Market capital rose to Rs9.071 trillion against Rs9.027 trillion. Out of 358 companies active in the session, 251 closed in green, 93 in red and 14 remained unchanged.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp, said stocks showed recovery after the government slashed National Savings Scheme rates up to 160bps, "likely to attract investor support at the PSX".

"The IMF board meeting scheduled for Jan 11 to release over $700 million SBA tranche, expected foreign inflows and rupee stability played a catalytic role in the bullish close." Analyst Naveed Nadeem at Topline Securities said equities began the day by extending losses from previous trading sessions. "Later, a bullish trend was witnessed in the market, leading to a positive close."

Positive contributions from stocks in the OMCs and refinery sectors, such as PPL, PSO, OGDC, CNERGY, and ATRL, collectively added 183 points. On the contrary, DAWH, MCB, and ENGRO resulted in a combined loss of 133 points.

The trading session witnessed substantial activity, with 812 million shares exchanged on the stock exchange, totalling Rs16.8 billion. KEL stood out on the volumes chart, leading with the trading of over 209 million shares.

The highest increase was recorded in Bata Pakistan Limited, which rose by Rs46.80 to Rs1,696.80 per share, followed by Sapphire Textile Mills Limited, which increased by Rs46.65 to Rs1,330 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs444 to Rs21,355 per share, followed by Nestle Pakistan Limited, which closed lower by Rs194 to Rs7,906 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said the market showed signs of stabilisation and recovery as the 61,000 points low held, leading to a rally during the session. "The advancing-to-declining (A/D) ratio stood at 67:29, indicating a notable positive breadth.," it added.

As the week concludes, the critical levels to monitor are support at 61,000 points and resistance at 64,000 points.

K-Electric Ltd. remained the volume leader with 209.399 million shares which closed lower by 17 paisas to Rs5.60 per share. Cnergyico PK followed it with 101.559 million shares, which closed higher by 60 paisas to Rs5.49 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included WorldCall Telecom, P.T.C.L., Kohinoor Spining, B.O. Punjab, Hascol Petrol, Pak Elektron, Pak Refinery and Fauji Foods Ltd.

A total of 315 companies recorded future shares, of which 225 increased, 83 decreased and 7 remained unchanged.