Stocks close flat after briefly crossing the 80k mark

KARACHI: Stocks closed flat on Friday after reaching a record high above 80k points for a brief period before consolidation happened in the overbought market.

Analysts believe that although the benchmark index reached record highs, valuations remain low in dollar terms. The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share Index closed flat with an increase of 8.96 points or 0.01 per cent to 78,810.49 points against 78,801.53 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 80,059.87 points while the lowest level was recorded at 78,169.03 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed flat amid consolidation in the overbought stocks.”

He said banking- and energy-sector scrips outperformed during futures rollover, and speculations over the IMF bailout deal to avoid sovereign debt default played a catalyst role in a record close.

The KSE-30 index increased by 35.56 points or 0.14 per cent to 25,473.55 points against 25,437.99 points.Traded shares increased by 57 million shares to 452.637 million shares from 395.897 million shares. The trading value decreased to Rs20.675 billion from Rs21.366 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs10.421 trillion against Rs10.178 trillion. Of 447 companies active in the session, 256 closed in green, 133 in red and 58 remained unchanged.

Nabeel Haroon, an analyst at Topline Securities, said a range-bound session was observed at the exchange as the index traded between its intraday high of +1,258 points and intraday low of -633 points to finally close on a flat note of 78,811 level (up by 0.01 per cent). Major positive contributions to the index came from HUBC, UBL, HBL, FFC and PAKT, as they cumulatively contributed 630 points to the index. MEBL, LUCK, EFERT, Engro and SYS lost value to weigh down on the index by 398 points.

The highest increase was recorded in Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited shares, which rose by Rs75.60 to Rs1,026.91 per share, followed by Mehmood Textile Mills Limited, which increased by Rs40.83 to Rs582.49 per share. A significant decline was noted in Ismail Industries Limited, which fell by Rs103.78 to Rs1,340.15 per share, Mari Petroleum Company Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs46.27 to Rs2,665.47 per share.

Analyst Khurran Schehzad at Alpha Beta Core said that in rupee terms, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) market value has reached an all-time high of Rs10.51 trillion, slightly surpassing the previous peak of Rs10.45 trillion achieved in May 2017.

However, when adjusted for inflation and currency devaluation, the real value of the PSX is still under $38 billion, significantly lower than the $100 billion it reached in May 2017.

It is important to acknowledge the significant rise in stocks and the substantial returns over the past year. However, understanding the mechanics of the index and the impact of inflation and devaluation is crucial for a comprehensive view of market performance.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 43.051 million shares which closed lower by 4 paisas to Rs1.27 per share. Hum Network followed it with 41.927 million shares, which closed higher by 60 paisas to Rs11.13 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Pervez Ahmed Co, Silk Bank Ltd, Hub Power Co, Habib Bank, K-Electric Ltd, Cnergyico PK, Air Link Commun and Pak Refinery.

In the futures market, 313 companies recorded trading, of which 101 increased, 211 decreased and one remained unchanged.