KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained in the green zone during the week ending February 28, 2022, driven by improved local liquidity and positive investor sentiment.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 451 points, or 0.4 percent, on a week-on-week basis, closing at 113,251.67 points compared to 112,801 points in the previous week. However, trading activity declined by 17 percent, with average daily volumes on the ready counter dropping to 492.23 million shares from the prior week’s 593.35 million shares.
Meanwhile, the average daily traded value on the ready counter saw a slight dip of 0.5 percent, reaching Rs 24.02 billion compared to Rs 24.15 billion in the previous week.
BRIndex100 gained 3.38 points during this week to close at 11,868.02 points with average daily turnover of 425.65 million shares.
BRIndex30 gained 286.71 points on week-on-week basis to close at 35,607.46 points with average daily trading volumes of 269 million shares.
Total market capitalization increased by Rs 22 billion to Rs 13.980 trillion end of the last week up from Rs 13.958 a week earlier.
Analysts at AHL Research said that the market closed in the green zone this week, supported by improved liquidity on the local front and positive investor sentiment surrounding discussions on the additional $1 billion climate funding under the IMF’s $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
A key development during the week was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and Iran, aimed at increasing bilateral trade volume to $10 billion. However, investors remained cautious, closely monitoring potential corporate and provincial tax reforms ahead of the IMF’s review for federal budget FY26 approvals.
On the macroeconomic front, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves augmented by $ 21 million WoW, settling at $ 11.2 billion, while the PKR depreciated slightly by 0.04%, closing at 279.57 against the USD.
Sector-wise positive contributions came from Commercial Banks (510pts), Glass & Ceramics (83pts), Power Generation (78pts), E&Ps (68pts), and Food (47pts). Meanwhile, the sectors that contributed negatively were technology & communication (109pts), inv. banks (31pts), engineering (23pts), and insurance (21pts).
According to AHL Research foreigner selling continued during this week clocked in at $ 6.0 million compared to a net sell of $5.1 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in banks ($3.9m) followed by all other sectors ($1.3m).
Analysts at JS said that the last week began with news that an IMF staff team will visit Pakistan in early March for discussions on the first review of Pakistan’s Extended Fund Facility. Initial talks will focus on technical aspects, followed by policy discussions. As per news flow, the budget for upcoming fiscal year may also be reviewed.
Meanwhile, a separate technical mission of the IMF on last Monday began talks regarding Pakistan’s request for around $1.5 billion in additional financing to combat climate change.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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