Stocks post winning streak for ninth consecutive session

Stocks surged again on Tuesday posting a winning streak for the ninth consecutive trading session amid earning season rally and investor confidence, traders said.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said blue-chip shares in oil, cement, and auto sectors outperformed on rising global crude prices as OPEC cut supplies. Surging local cement prices over CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) demand and revision in local auto prices on rupee depreciation also played their role.

“Foreign inflows and likely new bond issue to fund external account played a catalytic role in the bullish close,” Mehanti added.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 shares index closed 1.91 percent higher or 775.83 points to close at 41,486.87 points. The intra-day was 41,564.77 points while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 40,532.97 points.

KSE-30 index also gained 2.14 percent or 435.25 points to close at 20,804.48 points. Turnover increased 111 million shares to 229.36 million shares from 118.26 million shares.

Trading value rose to Rs10.51 billion from Rs4.48 billion, while market capital expanded to Rs8.71 trillion from 8.57 trillion. Out of 381 scrips active in the session, 235 closed in green, 124 in red while, 22 remained unchanged.

Analyst Jawwad Abubakr at Elixir Securities said equities stretched the winning streak to the ninth straight trading session. “Expect KSE100 index to test 41,800/42,000 where we see a breather,” he added.

Market witnessed dull trading in initial hours as investors seemed perturbed by the escalated diplomatic tension between US and Pakistan post negative remarks on aid given to Pakistan from the US President.

However, as the day progressed, active buying from local institutional investors across major sectors changed the moods.

“Stocks closed bullish in the earning season rally and investor interest on speculations over fresh financial mandate after the new finance minister’s appointment,” an analyst added.

Exploration and productions and financials led the rally, while cements too contributed to positive points on KSE100 index.

On corporate front, Pakistan Petroleum, up 3.3 percent, notified receiving approval from the government to continue production under Sui mining lease for an added period of six months effective December 1, 2017.

Highest increase was recorded in the shares of Pak Tobacco, up Rs67.04 to close at Rs2,107.58/share, followed by Mari Petroleum, up Rs63.30 to close at Rs1,501.42/share.

Major decline was noted in the shares of Atlas Honda Ltd, down Rs17.67 to Rs548.50/share, followed by Jubilee Life Insurance that decreased Rs13 to Rs692/share.

Significant turnover was recorded in stocks of TRG Pak Ltd, K-Electric Ltd, Fauji Cement, Pak Elektron, Pace (Pak) Ltd, Dost Steels Ltd, Bank of Punjab, Faysal Bank, Dewan Cement and Power Cement.

TRG Pak Ltd remained the volume leader with 20.76 million shares. Its shares decreased Rs1.06 to Rs29.70/share. It was followed by K-Electric Ltd with 18.29 million shares. It increased 28 paisas to Rs6.49/share.

Turnover in the future contracts rose to 65.64 million shares from 47.84 million shares traded in the previous session.​