Stocks closed higher on Wednesday, boosted by positive economic data on exports, trade deficit and cement dispatches, as well as investor optimism ahead of corporate earnings announcements and the release of an IMF tranche, dealers said.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index gained 297.25 points or 0.46 percent to close at 64,646.85 points, after touching a high of 65,244.60 points and a low of 64,219.54 points during the session. The KSE-30 index also increased by 67.48 points or 0.31 percent to close at 21,634.41 points.
“Bullish activity witnessed amid upbeat economic data on exports surging 22 percent year on year to $2.81 billion, trade deficit shrinking by 40 percent year on year to $1.7 billion and cement dispatched rising by 4.6 percent year on year in Dec’23,” said analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp.
"The investor speculations ahead of major earning announcements due next week, rupee stability, and the release of the IMF tranche this month played a catalytic role the in bullish close."
Traded shares decreased by 32 million shares to 639.616 million shares from 671.665 million shares. The trading value decreased to Rs20.282 billion from Rs24.451 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs9.359 trillion against Rs9.292 trillion. Out of 366 companies active in the session, 190 closed in green, 159 in red and 17 remained unchanged.
Analyst Ali Najib at Topline Securities said equities had a mixed day. "Contrary to Tuesday’s negative momentum, the day kicked off on a positive note and the benchmark index made an intraday high at 65,241 levels," Najib said. "At the aforesaid level, profit-taking was seen in the market which compelled the benchmark index to shed earlier gains and ultimately settle the day at 0.46 percent up." E&P, fertilizer, tobacco and cement sectors contributed the most as OGDC, PPL, FFC, PAKT and KOHC added 267 points. On the flip side, MTL, MEBL and PSO cumulatively lost 74 points due to profit-taking.
The highest increase was recorded in Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited, which rose by Rs57.89 to Rs1,130 per share, followed by Hoechst Pakistan Limited, which increased by Rs30 to Rs1,350 per share. A significant decline was noted in Pakistan Services Limited, which fell by Rs27.34 to Rs983.67 per share, followed by Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited, which closed lower by Rs17.49 to Rs1,607.37 per share.
Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said the market faced resistance at the weekly target of 65,000 points level, introducing the possibility of a decline towards 63,000 points. OGDC (+3.64 percent) emerged as the primary contributor to index gains, whereas MEBL (-1.34 percent) acted as the largest drag.
The overall outlook remains positive, and the statement suggests that declines in support levels should be viewed as buying opportunities, with an optimistic target of 67,000 points, the brokerage said. "This assessment provides a concise overview of the market's recent performance and outlines a forward-looking perspective for investors."
K-Electric Ltd. remained the volume leader with 127.794 million shares which closed higher by 17 paisas to Rs5.47 per share. P.T.C.L. followed it with 50.431 million shares, which closed higher by 74 paisas to Rs13.49 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included Pak Refinery, B.O. Punjab, Pak Petroleum, P.I.A.C.(A), WorldCall Telecom, Cnergyico PK, Unity Foods Ltd and Oil & Gas Dev.
A total of 312 companies recorded future shares, of which 151 increased, 156 decreased and 5 remained unchanged.
