Stocks extended their rally on Wednesday with moderate gains that pushed the benchmark index above 46,000 for the first time, dealers said.
They added that optimism about upbeat corporate results next month also boosted risk appetite. Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said stocks surged to new highs led by cement, oil and banking scrips on strong earnings outlook.
“Higher global equities, rising global crude prices above $53/barrel, rising trend in banking spreads and record local cement dispatches played a catalyst role in record close.” The KSE-100 shares index gained 0.71 percent or 327.38 points to close at 46,185.27 points. KSE-30 shares index gained 0.99 percent or 246.34 points to end at 25,027.58 points. As many as 412 scrips were active of which 171 advanced, 226 declined and 15 remained unchanged.
The ready market volumes stood at 360.77 million as compared to 383.046 million shares a day earlier. Faisal Bilwani at Elixir Securities said equities shunned all calls for a breather to close above key psychological level of 46k primarily on gains in oil and select index names. “A positive open was followed by intraday correction where wider market slipped in red, however institutional buying soon overtook and swayed the momentum back mainly led by index heavy E&Ps,” Bilwani said.
Pakistan Petroleum (PPL) up 5.0 percent and Pakistan Oilfields (POL) up 5.0 percent emerged as top gainers with former grabbing investors’ attention over positive news of Sui lease extension and improved pricing that helped sentiments while latter hit second consecutive upper price limit.
Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC) up 1.0 percent also ended the day green as battle between aggressive foreign sellers and local smart money continued with stock trading over 10 million shares on the day. Hub Power (HUBC) up 2.5 percent closed another positive day after recent update on progress over coal fired power plant while cements were higher on reported institutional buying. Autos on the other hand unperformed market after lower than expected monthly sales numbers. Analysts see volatile trading going forward with investors tracking regional markets that are expected to be guided by news flow from the US Federal Reserve meeting. “With indicators highlighting overbought readings, we advise caution at current levels and expect wider market to take a breather,” Bilwani said.
Companies posting highest gains include Wyeth Pakistan, up Rs81.77 to close at Rs4784.10/share and Phillip Morris Pakistan, up Rs73.79 to close at Rs2400/share.
Companies posting major losses include Indus Motor Company, down Rs22.57 to end at Rs1587.28/share and Ismail Industries, down Rs18.98 to end at Rs371/share. Highest volumes were witnessed in Dolmen City Reit with a turnover of 30.79 million shares. The scrip gained 05 paisas to close at Rs11/share. TRG Pakistan was second with a turnover of 29.69 million shares. It gained Rs2.15 to end at Rs45.62/share. Bank of Punjab was third with a turnover of 17.15 million shares. It gained 17 paisas to finish at Rs17.04/share.
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