After a few lacklustre sessions, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a buying spree on Friday as its benchmark KSE-100 closed above 73,000 for the first time in history.
The KSE-100 started the session on a positive note, hitting an intra-day high of 73,449.37. Some selling was also seen during the day but the bulls largely dominated the market till session-end.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 73,085.50, up by 427.45 points or 0.59%.
Across-the-board buying was witnessed in key sectors, led by cement, chemical, oil and gas exploration companies, and OMCs, with index-heavy stocks including LUCK, OGDC, PPL, PSO, SNGPL, and SSGC settling in the green.
Experts attributed the buying to improved economic indicators, as Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves and remittances improved.
Moreover, the market also anticipates a cut in the policy rate in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on June 10 amid a decline in the inflation rate.
On Thursday, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 Index closed marginally higher in a range-bound trading session to settle at 72,658.05, up by 56.24 points or 0.08%.
In its weekly report, brokerage house Topline Securities said the KSE 100 gained 1.65% on WoW basis.
“This positivity in market can be attributed to news that after arrival of key Saudi delegation this week, Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman is expected to arrive within days to seal investment deals,” it said.
The reports of expectations of an IMF mission visiting Pakistan this month to discuss a new programme also increased investor interest in the market, according to the brokerage house.
In a key development, the inflows of workers’ remittances increased by 27.9% on year-on-year basis to $2.8 billion during April 2024.
Cumulatively, with an inflow of $23.8 billion, workers’ remittances increased by 3.5% during the first 10 months of FY24 compared to the same period last year, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Thursday.
Globally, Chinese stocks fell on Friday, as geopolitical concerns dented investor sentiment following a trade restriction list issued by the Biden administration and potential new China tariffs, while Hong Kong shares tracked regional markets higher.
Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that China was considering a proposal to exempt individual investors from paying dividend taxes on Hong Kong stocks bought via Stock Connect, also lifting Hong Kong shares.
Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index advanced 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei index rose 0.26%.
Meanwhile, The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal gain against the US dollar, appreciating 0.03% during trading in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the local unit settled at 278.12, a gain of Re0.08 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan.
Volume on the all-share index increased to Rs741.2 million from Rs675 million a session ago.
The value of shares increased to Rs25.27 billion from Rs24.05 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 85.72 million shares, followed by Hum Network with 51.46 million shares, and Pak Elektron with 33.64 million shares.
Shares of 381 companies were traded on Friday, of which 217 registered an increase, 132 recorded a fall, while 32 remained unchanged.
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