KSE-100 surpasses 41,000-point mark on IMF optimism

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw an upbeat trading session on Friday and the KSE-100 Index surpassed the 41,000-point mark as investor confidence revived following Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks that a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was due to visit Pakistan in 2-3 days to complete ninth review of economy.

The news rejuvenated investor interest as it will provide the much-needed breathing space to the struggling economy.

At close on Friday, the KSE-100 Index finished with an increase of 290.78 points or 0.71% to settle at 41,007.52.

KSE-100 Index rises 0.44% in range-bound trading session

Trading in the first session began on a positive note and the market climbed in initial hours. The index consolidated gains in the second session as PM’s remarks triggered buying activity.

Cement and oil sectors closed with gains while automobile and banking spaces ended the day in the red.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the week ended in the green zone for the PSX.

“The market opened positive in the first session, but activity remained subdued through the end of the session. However, the bulls rallied as soon as the second session resumed with the news of an IMF team visiting Pakistan in the next week, and volumes climbed significantly across the board.”

According to it, major activity was recorded in the exploration and production and refineries sectors in expectations of resolution of gas circular debt.

A report from Capital Stake stated that extending rally from previous session, the PSX closed the week in green.

Indices accumulated gains for most part of the day while volumes grew from last close, it said.

On the economic front, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fell another $245 million to a highly critical level of $5.58 billion, data released on Thursday showed. This is the lowest level of SBP-held reserves since April 2014.

Moreover, Pakistan’s central government’s debt inflated by 24% on a year-on-year basis to Rs50,904 billion. Out of the total debt received 65% debt was from domestic sources, while remaining 35% was financed from external sources.

Rupee registered marginal loss against the US dollar and fell for the 13th straight session, depreciating 0.01% or Re0.02 on Friday to close at 227.14.

Sectors lifting the benchmark KSE-100 Index higher included oil and gas exploration (117.99 points), technology and communication (78.57 points) and miscellaneous (64.91 points).

Volume on the all-share index surged to 182 million from 111.8 million on Thursday. The value of shares traded more than doubled to Rs6.8 billion from Rs3.1 billion recorded in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 27.9 million shares, followed by K-Electric with 17.7 million shares, and Pak Refinery with 16.1 million shares.

Shares of 320 companies were traded on Friday, of which 164 registered an increase, 139 recorded a fall, and 17 remained unchanged.