KSE-100 up 467 points to new highs

KARACHI: Maintaining the highest level, the KSE-100 Index closed higher by 467 points on Friday amid a volatile session. The fertiliser sector led the gain in the market on upbeat sales.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 467.33 points or 0.4 per cent to 117,586.98 points against 117,119.66 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 117,891.62 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 115,580.02 points.

Ahsan Mehanti, an analyst at Arif Habib Corp, said, “Stocks closed bullish led by the banking and fertiliser sectors in the earnings season rally at the PSX on strong earnings outlook.” He said that the expected strong payout in the banking sector, upbeat data on Urea fertilizer sales surging by 58 per cent YoY in December, and projections over the SBP’s key policy rate cut this month played a catalyst role in the bullish close at the PSX.

The KSE-30 index increased by 128.03 points or 0.35 per cent to 37,065.05 points against 36,937.02 points. Traded shares decreased by 102 million shares to 935.783 million shares from 1,037.862 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs39.62 billion from Rs46.57 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs14.633 trillion against Rs14.637 trillion. Of the 456 companies active in the session, 167 closed in green, 246 in red and 43 remained unchanged.

Analyst Nabeel Haroon at Topline Securities said the KSE-100 index opened on a negative note, largely led by pressure in the cement sector as the index declined to make an intraday low of -1,540 points. Pressure in the cement sector was on noise that there is a dispute among cement manufacturers for an increase in market share and change in geographic sales to fetch higher retention prices where some players are reportedly encroaching on the volumes of others, creating unease within the sector.

However, in the second half, investors came in with access to available liquidity to buy the dip as the index recovered to close at the 117,587 level (up by 0.4 per cent).

The index’s top positive contributions came from the fertilizer sector, as EFERT, FFC, DAWH and Engro cumulatively contributed 911 points. This interest in the fertiliser sector was due to the expectation of an increase in dispatch number by 53 per cent month-over-month (MoM) for December 2024.

On the other hand, LUCK, SYS, PPL, FCCL and PIOC lost value to weigh down on the index by -466 points. Traded value-wise, Engro (Rs2.14 billion), FFC (Rs2.11 billion), FCCL (Rs1.88 billion), PSO (Rs1.76 billion) and PAEL (Rs1.44 billion) dominated the trading activity.

The highest increase was recorded in Al-Ghazi Tractors Limited, which rose by Rs62.97 to Rs692.63 per share, followed by Mehmood Textile Mills Limited, which increased by Rs45.94 to Rs665 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs227.69 to Rs20,992.31 per share; Khyber Textile Mills Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs45.46 to Rs581.54 per share.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 73.230 million shares, which closed lower by 9 paisas to Rs1.70 per share. Cnergyico PK, with 57.326 million shares, followed it, which closed lower by one paisa to Rs7.55 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Fauji Cement, Fauji Foods Ltd, Pace (Pak) Ltd, K-Electric Ltd, Bank Makramah, Pak Elektron, BO Punjab and Pak Refinery. In the futures market, 298 companies recorded trading, 83 of which increased, 214 decreased, and one remained unchanged.