Stocks close week with gain of 485 points

KARACHI: Stocks rebounded on Friday after a day of sluggish trading, driven by buying in the power, oil and banking sectors.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index closed the session on the last trading day of the week at 78,225.98, showing an increase of 485.68 points or 0.62 per cent. The index remained positive throughout the day, showing an intraday high of 78,434.16 (+693.86) and a low of 77,926.53 (+186.23) points. The total volume of the KSE-100 index was 203.30 million shares.

Analysts said that positive news on the economic front especially the slowing down of the inflation rate and the finance minister’s affirmation of an IMF loan approval supported the market.

Cement stocks came under selling pressure after the government of Punjab approved royalty on limestone and argillaceous clay at the rate of 6.0 per cent of the ex-factory sale price of cement and clinker.

Cement companies were previously being charged a royalty of Rs20 per bag on the minerals procured. With the new rate of 6.0 per cent, the royalty will increase to Rs66 per bag, resulting in an additional cost of Rs 46 per bag. “Aggressive selling was seen in cement names as the news broke”, brokerage house Arif Habib Limited stated.

“Stocks closed sharply higher amid upbeat data on CPI inflation at 11.1 per cent YoY in Jul 2024, likely to further reduce SBP policy rates”, noted Ashan Mehanti, analyst at Arif Habib Corp.

He said that the cement sector battered after the Punjab government revised the rates of royalty to 6 per cent per tonne on cement and clinker.He also attributed the bullish momentum in the market to rupee recovery amid surge in foreign exchange reserves, adding that the finance minister’s affirmation on the IMF executive board’s approval of the $7 billion EFF by this month end and reports of a surge in exports by 12 per cent YoY in July 2024 played a catalyst role in the bullish close at the PSX.

Major positive contribution to the index came from HUBC, HBL, UBL, OGDC and NATF, as they cumulatively contributed 253 points to the index; BAHL, PSEL, MTL, FFC and DAWH lost value to weigh down on the index by -151 points. Traded volume and value for the day stood at 440 million shares and Rs20.38 billion respectively. CNERGY was the volume leader with 66.6 million shares.

Of the 100 index companies, 60 closed up, 29 closed down, 10 were unchanged, and 1 remained untraded. Top gainers during the day were CNERGY (+15.94 per cent), NRL (+10.00 per cent), ATRL (+8.88 per cent), NATF (+7.41 per cent), and YOUW (+4.67 per cent). The top losers were PSEL (-4.74 per cent), JVDC (-4.20 per cent), PIOC (-2.76 per cent), DGKC (-1.55 per cent), and KOHC (-1.42 per cent).

Companies that pushed up the index were HUBC (+79.45 points), HBL (+49.03 points), UBL (+47.28 points), OGDC (+41.05 points), and ATRL (+40.82 points). Companies brought down the index lower were BAHL (-28.81 points), PSEL (-25.99 points), DAWH (-20.37 points), MCB (-19.43 points), and MTL (-18.25 points).

The KSE-100 Index was supported by power generation & distribution (+103.40 points), oil & gas exploration companies (+95.57 points), refinery (+88.73 points), commercial banks (+64.63 points), and food & personal care products (+61.88 points) and was let down by miscellaneous (-30.86 points), automobile assembler (-24.15 points), cement (-20.55 points), investment banks/investment companies/ securities companies (-16.56 points), and property (-7.05 points).