Stocks up 162 points amid rupee stability

KARACHI: Stocks closed slightly higher on Wednesday amid falling inflation on rupee stability and agriculture growth.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index increased by 162.41 points or 0.2 per cent to 81,967.01 points against 81,804.59 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 82,360.29 points while the lowest level was recorded at 81,529.45 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed higher amid falling inflation on rupee stability, fall in global prices and agriculture growth.”S&P projection over a rate cut of 200bps by FY25; a 20 per cent rise in petroleum product sales in September; and a surge in global crude oil prices played a catalyst role in the bullish close.

The KSE-30 index increased by 63.95 points or 0.25 per cent to 26,075.26 points against 25,011.31 points.Traded shares rose by one million shares to 360.987 million shares from 359.081 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs15.391 billion from Rs17.160 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs10.732 trillion against Rs10.712 trillion. Of the 448 companies active in the session, 164 closed in green, 221 in red and 63 remained unchanged.

Naveed Nadeem, an analyst at Topline Securities, said the KSE-100 index closed at 81,967, up 162 points or 0.2 per cent. The session saw significant volatility, peaking at 82,360 and dipping to 81,529, largely due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The index was primarily driven by UBL, FFC, MCB, Engro and PKGP, which together contributed 270 points.The highest increase was recorded in Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which rose by Rs187.57 to Rs6,999 per share, followed by Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which increased by Rs25.80 to Rs17,295.80 per share.

A significant decline was noted in Hoechst Pakistan Limited, which fell by Rs48.14 to Rs2,010.03 per share; Lucky Core Industries Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs28.86 to Rs1,021.90 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that intraday gains pushed the KSE-100 above 82k before closing flat by the end of the session. On the downside, HUBC (-2.13 per cent), MARI (-2.36 per cent), and EFERT (-1.57 per cent) were the biggest drags on the index.

In economic news, Pakistan’s September exports increased by 13.5 per cent year-on-year, while imports grew by 16.1 per cent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. As a result, the trade deficit widened slightly to $1.78 billion from $1.75 billion in the previous month.

The market outlook remains positive, with support expected around the 80-81k level, stated the brokerage. Agha Steel Ind remained the volume leader with 30.832 million shares which closed lower by 7 paisas to Rs10.72 per share. WorldCall Telecom followed it with 26.473 million shares, which closed lower by 3 paisas to Rs1.21 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Fauji Cement, Pak Elektron, Fatima Fert, Kohinoor Spinning, Flying Cement, Citi Pharma Ltd, PIA Holding Company and Hub Power Co XD.In the futures market, 315 companies recorded trading, of which 115 increased, 197 decreased and 3 remained unchanged.