Stocks rally as OMCs bet on POL price hike

Stocks on Monday carried last session’s bullishness into next week with oil marketers leading from the front, counting on a hike in petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) prices from January 1, 2021, amid easing virus woes, dealers said.

Benchmark KSE-100 shares index gained 0.59 percent or 257.51 points to close at 43,674.28 points at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), while volumes shrank to 463.412 million shares compared to 570.583 million in the previous session. KSE-30 rose 0.64 percent or 115.61 points to end at 18,213.33 points level.

Topline Securities in its daily market review said equities started the week on a positive note with the index printing an intra-day high of 43,760 (up 0.79 percent). The market cheered a decline in COVID-19 cases coupled with news suggesting that IMF had accepted Pakistan’s plea to delay implementation of some tax measures, the brokerage said.

It further said that approval of the issuance of $500 million Eurobonds for dams boosted investor sentiment in the construction sector. Shahab Farooq, director research at Next Capital said year-end phenomena and diminishing signs of political confrontation along with clarity emerging on Senate elections lured investors back into the market resulting in a positive outset to the week.

Muhammad Saeed Khalid, head of research at Shajar Capital said, stock market remained robust, marking an intra-day high of 344 points to close at 43,659 index levels. The index remained in the bullish zone where aggressive buying was witnessed in refineries and OMCs on the expected hike in petroleum prices from January 2021, he said.

Bullish sentiments prevailed in automobile and tech stocks with high volumetric activity in TRG, GHNL, and GHNI, he said adding that investors also bought on the expected removal of import and custom duties of industrial raw material.

Out of 398 active shares, 225 gained, 154 lost, and 19 remained unchanged. Faizan Munshey, associate director at KASB Securities, said Friday’s rally continued its momentum, largely owing to rising global stock markets and smooth rollover of December futures in the last week.

Moreover, flattish trend in the second wave of coronavirus and acceptance of Pakistan’s plea to delay implementation of some significant tax measures by IMF also gave sentiments a boost, he said.

“We expect the market to continue its upward momentum in the coming days tracking strong cues from global peers and rising oil prices,” Munshey added.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti from Arif Habib Corporation said Stocks closed bullish led by oil, banking and cement scrips on strong earnings outlook.

Investors weighed bull-run in global equities, surging crude oil prices, record receipts in Roshan Digital Accounts, and current account surplus in November played contributed to the positive close, Mehanti added.

Sapphire Fibre, up Rs63.99 to close at Rs980/share, and Bata Pakistan, strengthening by Rs30 to finish at Rs1,530/share emerged as the top gainers of the day.

The worst losses were posted by Colgate Palmolive, down Rs55 to close at Rs2,900/share, and Indus Dyeing, down Rs35.34 to close at Rs500.01/share.

K-Electric Limited led volumes with 47.200 million shares, gaining Rs0.26 to end at Rs4.07/share. Pakistan International Bulk witnessed lowest trade with 8.915 million shares, but secured Rs0.2 to end at Rs12.87/share.