Fourth successive gain: KSE-100 rises 1.62% on easing energy prices

Investor sentiment at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained strong on Friday as the KSE-100 rose for the fourth straight session amid decline in global energy prices and persistent appreciation of rupee against the US dollar.

During the day, the international oil prices fell to multi-month lows as WTI’s price stood at $87.95 per barrel while Brent crude oil was being sold at $93.75 per barrel.

PSX rallies for third successive session, KSE-100 rises 0.87%

This development bolstered the domestic equity market and it rose 670.87 points or 1.62% to close at 42,096.24 points.

The market gained further support from continuous recovery in the local currency which maintained its momentum against the US dollar for the sixth successive day.

While the market saw selling pressure in early hours and the KSE-100 index traded flat for some time, investor interest renewed towards the end of the first session and the market closed nearly 300 points higher.

The second session saw acceleration of the rally that helped the index cross 42,000 point mark and close with substantial gains.

Index heavyweights automobile, cement, chemical, banking, fertiliser and refinery sectors closed the day positively.

Rupee maintains upper hand against US dollar, closes at 224

The benchmark KSE-100 gained 4.85% on week-on-week basis.

A report from Capital Stake stated that bullish sentiments prevailed at the PSX for fourth consecutive session.

“Indices traded in green all day long with the benchmark KSE-100 index crossing 42,000 mark,” it said.

Topline Securities, in its report, stated Pakistan equities witnessed positive momentum on the back of easing global energy where international oil and coal prices saw some correction. The decline assisted market to continue Thursday’s buying sentiment and helped KSE-100 index to close the day at 42,096 points.

Arif Habib Limited’s report underlined that in the second session, investors gained confidence due to positive news flows regarding the IMF programme resumption as rupee further appreciated against the US dollar.

US oil may test a support at $87.11

On the economic front, State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves dropped $190 million to $8.39 billion in the week ended on July 29, 2022, as economic policymakers continued to scramble over securing dollar inflows.

In addition, rupee gained for sixth straight session and recovered Rs2.12 or 0.94% to close at Rs224.04 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, sectors that helped the benchmark KSE-100 index move up included banking (181.71 points), cement (134.04 points) and automobile assembling (42.81 points).

Volume on the all-share index spiked to 406.7 million from 275.4 million on Thursday. Similarly, the value of shares traded also surged to Rs11.6 billion from Rs7.9 billion recorded in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 64.3 million shares, followed by Pak Refinery with 29.9 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 20.4 million shares.

Shares of 345 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 264 registered an increase, 58 recorded a fall, and 23 remained unchanged.