Bullish trend witnessed

Despite foreign selling, Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed bullish trend during the outgoing week ended August 03, 2017 on the back of local investors and institutional support. The benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 965.34 points on week-on-week basis and closed at the level of 46,877.37 points.
Trading activities also improved significantly as average daily volumes on ready counter increased by 75.9 percent to 348.92 million shares as compared to previous week''s average of 198.35 million shares. Average daily trading value increased by 61.6 percent to Rs 16.56 billion. Total market capitalization increased by Rs 192 billion to Rs 9.706 trillion. Foreign investors remained net sellers of shares worth $ 41.09 million during the week as compared to an outflow of $13.15 million in the preceding week.
An analyst at AKD Securities said that smooth political transition strengthened sentiments with KSE-100 index gaining 965pts to close the current week at 46,877. In this regard, the new PM, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, was sworn in this week with the formation of the cabinet. Performance leaders during the week were PSO (up 10.2 percent), KEL (up 10.1 percent), PTC (up 6.6 percent), UBL (up 6.2 percent) and EFERT (up 6.2 percent); while laggards included HBL (down 4.7 percent), FFC (down 2.3 percent), PPL (down 1.6 percent), INDU (down 1.5 percent) and ABL (down 0.8 percent).
An analyst at JS Global Capital said that the bourse welcomed clarity on the political front with benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 2.1 percent. Although some matters on the political front remain unresolved, market participants appeared to have taken comfort on the election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as the new Prime Minister. Local mutual funds showed the largest buying interest with net buying of $34 million as compared to $28 million net selling in the previous week. Key sectors outperforming the KSE-100 index during the week were OMCs (up 6.5 percent), Power generation (up 5.4 percent), Cements (up 3.1 percent) and E&Ps (up 2.2 percent).
An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said that trading during the week resumed on a positive note following direction set by the prior two weeks. The rise in index was necessitated by locals, mutual funds, and companies that had kept distance in the previous few weeks waiting for the political dust to settle down before re-entering. On sectorial basis, upside to the index was contributed by Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (up 219 points), Cements (up 133 points), Fertilizer (up 122 points), Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (up 116 points) and Power Generation and Distribution (up 95 points). Amongst the heavy weights, ENGRO, SNGP, PSO, OGDC and POL pulled up the index, adding a cumulative of 406 points during the departing week.