Stocks snap losingstreak on oil recovery

Stocks pared some of the losses on Wednesday as investors took fresh position at blue-chip counters on recovery in oil prices and auto data, dealers said.

Analyst Danish Landhani at JS Research said market showed confidence despite political uncertainty. “Moving forward, we recommend investors to stay cautious and avoid taking long-term positions unless there is clarity on politics and economy,” Danish added.

The benchmark KSE 100-share Index of Pakistan Stock Exchange rose 294.54 points or 0.76 percent to close at 38,819.65 points. The highest index of the day remained at 38,884.89 points, while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 38,525.11 points.

KSE 30-share Index also increased 129.32 points to end at 19,402.70 points. Turnover, however, shed 78 million shares to 117.70 million shares from 195.49 million shares. Trading value also dropped to Rs5.37 billion from Rs8.68 billion, while market capital increased to Rs8.30 trillion from 8.24 trillion.

Of 358 companies active in the session, 257 closed up, 80 ended down while 21 remained unchanged. Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said stocks closed bullish, led by selected shares across the board on higher global crude oil prices and upbeat data for car sales.

“Concerns for rupee volatility against dollar invited mid-session pressure,” Mehanti added. “Reports on surging fertiliser and cement sales in December and rising local cement prices played a catalyst role in bullish close.”

Investors’ interest was seen in Engro (up 1.6 percent) and SSGC (rising 3.6 percent) as Engro Elengy Terminal Private Limited signed a liquefied natural gas supply agreement with SSGC. Interest was also seen in independent power producers (IPPs) as HUBC up 0.3 percent and KAPCO rising 1.1 percent closed high on the back of the news that the senate standing committee on finance directed the power ministry to resolve the issue of the payment of Rs32.45 billion owed to the IPPs.

Highest increase was recorded in Nestle Pakistan XD by Rs260 to Rs12,700/share, followed by Sapphire Textile that rose Rs80.90 to Rs1,789.95/share. Major decrease was recorded in JDW Sugar by Rs18.50 to Rs351.50/share, followed by Macter Int Ltd XD that fell Rs13.06 to Rs248.24/share.

Significant turnover was recorded in stocks of K-Electric Ltd, TRG Pak Ltd, Azgard Nine, Pak Elektron, Crescent Star (R), Dewan Motors, Habib Bank Ltd, Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd, Bank of Punjab and Fauji Cement.

K-Electric Ltd remained the volume leader with 18.29 million shares with an increase of 10 paisas to Rs6.38/share. It was followed by TRG Pak Ltd with 12.05 million shares with an increase of nine paisas to Rs31.81/share. Turnover in the future contracts dropped to 36.72 million shares from 46.43 million shares traded in the previous session.​