KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its record-breaking spree on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index surging by 523.56 points (0.74 percent) to close above the 71,000 points level for the first time in history at 71,433.46 points.
The benchmark index has surged 74.3 percent over the past year and is up 10.5 percent year-to-date. According to experts, Pakistan is aiming to agree on the outline for a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan, which has been helping sustain the record-breaking spree. Moreover, good March quarter dividends are helping share prices which despite rallying are trading at a forward looking price-earnings ratio of 4, they added.
They also attributed the upward momentum “to media reports of Saudi investment in Reko Diq, the likelihood of Pakistan securing its next IMF programme and projections indicating a sharp decline in inflation and interest rates ahead. Meanwhile, the current account is in a positive and stable state, and the economy appears to be on the road to recovery. Persistent adverse economic conditions have resulted in significantly undervalued assets, and the current rally may simply be a reversion to the mean, they added.
The KSE-100 has been on a winning run for the past few weeks, hitting record highs as investors count on a monetary easing cycle amid lower inflation figures, higher dollar inflows, and a general improved sentiment on Pakistan’s economy. Moreover, the market is getting support on hopes for a new IMF deal.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 978.74 points, showing an intraday high of 71,861.18 points and an intraday low of 70,882.44 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 417.42 points (0.89 percent) to close at 46,964.65 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 343.18 points (1.03 percent) to close at 33,365.57 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 360.54 million, while the overall market volumes were recorded at 655.21 million shares. Among scrips, HBL topped the volumes with 48.15 million shares, followed by PRL (30.5 million) and PAEL (28.6 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included HBL, PRL, PAEL, WTL and KEL, which formed around 24 percent of total volumes.
A total of 386 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of which shares of 216 closed up, shares of 138 companies closed down while shares of 32 companies remained unchanged. A total of 100 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index, out of which share prices of 63 companies closed up, 33 companies closed down and four remained unchanged. The number of total trades remained 280,885, while the value traded remained Rs31.25 billion.
In terms of rupee, MARI remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs133.51 (+5.09 percent) per share, closing at Rs2,755.69. The runner-up remained NESTLE, the share price of which climbed up by Rs52.01 (+0.68 percent) to Rs7,652.01. UPFL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs366.66 (-1.75 percent) per share, closing at Rs20,533.34, followed by RMPL, the share price of which fell by Rs40 (-0.48 percent) to close at Rs8,310 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained oil & gas marketing companies (152 points), commercial banks (126 points), fertilizer (119 points), cement (108 points), technology and communication (66 points), pharmaceutical (19 points), and engineering (16 points).
Major companies adding points to the index remained MARI (116 points), UBL (80 points), EFERT (76 points), LUCK (50 points), OGDC (38 points), FFC (29 points), PIOC (23 points), TRG and BAFL (21 points each), and SYS (20 points).
The major sectors taking the index towards south remained power and distribution companies (35 points), refinery (27 points), tobacco (11 points), insurance (10 points), and chemicals (8 points).
Major companies depriving the index of points remained HUBC (23 points), BAHL (18 points), EPCL (14 points), ATRL, DAWH and NRL (12 points each), PAKT (11 points), HBL and KEL (10 points each), and AICL (8 points). – TLTP