KSE-100 up 916 points amid buying from local institutions

KARACHI: Stocks started the week with positive momentum and surged by 916 points to another all-time high on Monday as investors weighed falling lending rates after a drop in government bond yields.

The market showed some decline earlier in the session but soon picked up the momentum as local institutions entered the market with heavy investments.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 916.44 points or 0.84 per cent to 109,970.39 points against 109,053.95 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 110,358.85 points while the lowest level was recorded at 107,625.92 points.

Ahsan Mehanti, an analyst at Arif Habib Corp, said, “Stocks closed to a new all-time high as investors weigh falling lending rates after a drop in government bond yields amid speculations over the imminent big rate cut in the SBP policy announcement” in the coming days.

He said that rupee stability on surging forex reserves, surge in global crude oil price and upbeat economic indicators played a catalyst in record surge at the PSX.

The KSE-30 index increased by 281.57 points or 0.83 per cent to 34,130.66 points against 33,849.09 points.

Traded shares decreased by 100 million shares to 1,597.868 million shares from 1,697.842 million shares. The trading value rose to Rs60.251 billion from Rs57.487 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs14.027 trillion against Rs13.855 trillion. Of the 467 companies active in the session, 278 closed in green, 158 in red and 31 remained unchanged.

Analyst Naveed Nadeem at Topline Securities said the KSE-100 index closed at an all-time high of 109,970, recording a gain of 916 points, or 0.84 per cent. “The market opened with concerns over ADRs, reflecting a negative sentiment with a decline of 1,424 points. However, as local institutions entered the market, it reversed course and moved into a positive territory, reaching an intraday high of 110,359,” he said.

Major contributors to the index’s surge included MARI, LUCK, SYS, ENGRO, and SEARL, which collectively added 910 points.

The highest increase was recorded in Nestle Pakistan Limited, which rose by Rs671.59 to Rs7,387.52 per share, followed by Sazgar Engineering Works Limited, which increased by Rs95.01 to Rs1,156.40 per share. A significant decline was noted in Lucky Core Industries Limited, which fell by Rs47.84 to Rs1,094.88 per share; Thal Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs21.39 to Rs442.39 per share.

K-Electric Ltd remained the volume leader with 164.514 million shares which closed higher by 42 paisas to Rs6.16 per share. WorldCall Telecom with 161.906 million shares followed it, which closed higher by 8 paisas to Rs1.83 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Cnergyico PK, B.O. Punjab, Telecard Limited, Hascol Petrol, Power Cement, TPL Properties, Pak Elektron and Ghani Glo Hol. In the futures market, 306 companies recorded trading, 212 of which increased, 91 decreased, and 3 remained unchanged.