Stocks up on multiple positive economic, political factors

Stocks closed up on Tuesday, ending the losing streak on multiple positive economic and political factors from increased forex reserves to expected clarity on International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal and bail granted to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, dealers said.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporations said, “Stocks showed recovery led by oil and gas sector scrips after reports of likely discovery of massive oil and gas deposits in offshore drilling, and receipt of $2.2 billion commercial loan from China.”

Mid-session pressure remained on uncertainty over terms of IMF deal, SBP projections over economic slowdown, and surging fiscal deficit. “Easing political noise, speculations on likely further hike in gas tariffs, rupee stability against dollar and surging global crude oil prices played a catalytic role in the bullish close,” he added.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 shares index gained 0.53 percent or 200.47 points to close at 38,329.13 points level. KSE-30 shares index followed suit with a high of 0.55 percent or 99.06 points to end at 18,139.52 points level.

Of 347 active scrips, 177 moved up, 139 retreated, and 31 remained unchanged. The ready market volumes stood at 86.389 million shares, as compared with the turnover of 56.474 million shares in the previous session.

Madiha Javed, analyst from Ismail Iqbal Securities, said the market remained volatile throughout the session, as the arrival of the Financial Action task Force (FATF) affiliates to assess measures undertaken by Pakistan, and talks with the IMF both started today.

SBP lowered its growth outlook to an eight-year low, and investors remained focused on the upcoming monetary policy where interest rate would expectedly be hiked up further.

The index closed positive driven by E&Ps on ongoing optimism around successful discovery in Kekra-1, which would likely be announced soon, Madiha added.

According to an analyst, all eyes have been glued to the FATF and IMF representatives holding talks with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, and the central bank officials.

The officials would hold series of meetings to convince the teams that the government has taken all out measures to put the economy back on track, to eliminate money laundering, and to curb terrorism.

IMF new chief would soon hold talks with Finance Minister Asad Umar, where he would be briefing that government has taken measures to control twin deficits (fiscal and current account) to manageable levels.

Moreover, the concentration of several investors was on the gas stocks, where companies have recommended price increase to further improve the profit margins, the analyst said.

The highest gainers were Phillip Morris Pakistan, up Rs57.35 to close at Rs3,981.43/share, and Mari Petroleum, up Rs22.94 to finish at Rs1,245.31/share.

Companies that booked highest losses were Island Textile, down Rs92.99 to close at Rs1,767.00/share, and Nestle Pakistan, down Rs78.48 to close at Rs7,321.12/share.

WorldCall Telecom recorded the highest volumes with a turnover of 15.439 billion shares. The scrip gained Rs0.01 to close at Rs1.09/share.

The lowest volumes were witnessed in Fauji Cement, recording a turnover of 3.682 million shares, whereas the scrip lost Rs0.49 to end at Rs19.29/share.