KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp recovery on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index surging by 3,648 points, driven by easing geopolitical tensions and optimism over the IMF Executive Board’s approval of the Extended Fund Facility.
Amid the sharp sell-off, trading was temporarily halted for one hour after the KSE-30 index dropped more than 5.0 per cent for five consecutive minutes, activating the market’s circuit breaker mechanism.
The benchmark KSE-100 index surged by 3,647.82 points, or 3.52 per cent, to 107,174.64 points, up from 103,526.82 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 107,541.45 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 102,420.82 points.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Ltd said, “Stocks staged a sharp recovery as investors anticipated de-escalation in Pakistan-India tensions following the US appeal to end hostilities, along with the IMF Executive Board’s approval of a $1 billion disbursement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and an additional $1.3 billion under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).”
He said that policy easing by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and a surge in global crude oil prices acted as key catalysts for the record bullish close at the PSX. The KSE-30 index increased by 1,169.96 points or 3.72 per cent to 32,648.1 points from 31,478.14 points.
Traded shares dropped by 137 million shares to 516.295 million shares from 653.55 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs28.841 billion from Rs35.437 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs12.89 trillion against Rs12.53 trillion. Of the 441 companies active in the session, 300 closed in green, 99 in red and 42 remained unchanged.
Nabeel Haroon, an analyst at Topline Securities, said the KSE-100 index rebounded and gained to close at the 107,175 level (up by 3.5 per cent) recouping some of the previous day losses. This recovery was on account of optimism on the IMF Executive Board meeting scheduled to consider EFF program, where market expects smooth approval. Overall decline in cross-border hostilities also provided stimulus to investor sentiment.
Traded value-wise PSO (Rs1.97 billion), MARI (Rs1.82 billion), OGDC (Rs1.67 billion), SNGP (Rs1.63 billion), PPL (Rs1.22 billion), FFC (Rs1.17 billion), UBL (Rs1.14 billion), LUCK (Rs1.06 billion) and MLCF (Rs839 million) dominated the trading activity.
Top positive contributions to the index came from LUCK, MARI, HUBC, HBL, FFC, PPL, OGDC, ENGROH, EFERT and PSO, as they cumulatively contributed +1,923 points.
The highest increase was recorded in PIA Holding Company Limited B, which rose by Rs703.20 to Rs7,735.23 per share, followed by Nestle Pakistan Limited, which increased by Rs120.31 to Rs7,119.15 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs107.87 to Rs21,972.88 per share; Supernet Technologies Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs64.78 to Rs780 per share.
Muhammad Hasan Ather, an analyst at JS Global, said investor sentiment was buoyed by the absence of new developments following Thursday’s sell-off, triggered by drone attacks. Early market strength was further supported by optimism ahead of the IMF Executive Board’s meeting. “Going forward, market volatility could persist, depending on geopolitical developments and IMF decisions, but positive sentiment could sustain if external factors stabilise,” he said.
WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 47.087 million shares, which closed higher by 6 paisas to Rs1.16 per share. Cnergyico PK, with 33.59 million shares, followed it, which closed higher by 70 paisas to Rs6.42 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included Sui South Gas, BO Punjab, Pak Refinery, PIA Holding Company, Sui North Gas, K-Electric Ltd, Maple Leaf and Kohinoor Spinning.In the futures market, 321 companies recorded trading, 267 of which increased, 52 decreased and 2 remained unchanged.
