KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed mixed trend during the outgoing week ended on March 22, 2024 as the investors remained cautious and avoided taking fresh positions.
The benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 335.36 points on week-on-week basis and closed at 65,151.83 points.
Trading activities remained low as average daily volumes on ready counter decreased by 13.1 percent to 294.99 million shares during this week as compared to previous week’s average of 339.57 million shares while average daily traded value on the ready counter declined by 3.8 percent to Rs 11.03 billion during this week against previous week’s Rs 11.46 billion.
BRIndex100 inched up by 16.66 points during this week to close at 6,695.10 points with average daily turnover of 250.691 million shares.
BRIndex30 declined by 563.26 points on week-on-week basis to close at 21,992.07 points with average daily trading volumes of 179.915 million shares.
The foreign investors however remained net buyers of shares worth $1.976 million. Total market capitalization declined by Rs 32 billion during this week to stand at Rs 9.170 trillion.
An analyst at AKD Securities said that the market, though starting on a positive note, witnessed uncertainty over interest rate cuts erasing some gains from the initial days.
The week commenced with the MPC meeting on Monday, where SBP maintained the interest rate at 22 percent, though the decision did not impact the market as it was already expected and priced-in. Furthermore, talks with the IMF mission on the SBA’s second review concluded on Tuesday with staff-level agreement, resulting in infused positivity into the equity market and international investors as well with appreciation in dollar bonds and KSE-100 index.
Sector-wise, Transport, Inv. Banks/Securities Cos and Tobacco were amongst the top performers, up 15.4 percent/6.8 percent/5.0 percent respectively. On the other hand, Synthetic & Rayon, Cement, and Refinery were amongst the worst performers with a decline of 5.9 percent/4.3 percent/3.6 percent.
Flow-wise, major net selling was recorded by the Companies with a net sell of $9.0million. On the other hand, Insurance absorbed most of the selling with a net buy of $24.1million.
Company-wise, top performers during the week were NBP (up 21.9 percent), DAWH (up 16.6 percent), PTC (up 11.1 percent), CEPB (up 6.8 percent) and MEBL (up 6.5 percent), while top laggards were NRL (down 8.6 percent), PIOC (down 8.1 percent), CNERGY (down 7.7 percent), HCAR (down 7.3 percent) and FCCL (down 6.8 percent).
An analyst at JS Global Capital said that the market experienced volatility throughout the week, with the initial three sessions concluding positively before profit-taking dominated the final two trading sessions.
Focal point this week was the IMF’s conclusive assessment of the $3.0 billion SBA, marked by the signing of a Staff Level Agreement. The newly elected government reaffirmed its unwavering dedication to meeting all structural benchmarks and indicative targets set forth by the IMF.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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