Index remains positive

Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed positive trend during the outgoing week ended on March 29, 2019 on the back of selective buying in various sectors. BRIndex100 gained 6.28 points on week-on-week basis to close at 4,073.89 points. Average daily volumes stood at 88.139 million shares. BRIndex30 increased by 141.28 points to close at 20,864.41 points with average daily turnover of 63.841 million shares.
KSE-100 index surged by 117.47 points and closed the week at 38,649.34 points. Trading activities also improved as average daily volumes on ready counter increased by 52.9 percent to 128.28 million shares as compared to previous week''s average of 83.88 million shares. Average daily trading value increased by 11.0 percent to Rs 4.39 billion. The foreign investors remained net buyers of equities worth $0.5 million during this week. Total market capitalization increased by Rs 22 billion to Rs 7.868 trillion.
An analyst at JS Global Capital said that the KSE-100 index remained range bound during the week as news flows with respect to potential conditions attached to upcoming IMF package compelled investors to maintain a wait-and-watch approach. The IMF mission chief paid a visit to Pakistan during the week, where discussions with government officials mainly surrounded the current economic scenario of Pakistan while the Finance Minister expects the bailout package by mid-May.
Among the gainers during the week were Paper & Board (up 4.6 percent), Pharmaceuticals (up 2.8 percent) and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (up 3.9 percent) sectors. On the other hand, among the major losers were Food & Personal Care Products (down 4.1 percent), Cement (down 0.6 percent) and Power Generation & Distribution (down 1.1 percent) sectors.
An analyst at Topline Securities said that Pakistan equities remained volatile during the outgoing quarter (January-March 2019); KSE-100 index gained 4.3 percent on quarter-on-quarter basis. The highest (one day) gain during the quarter remained 2.70 percent (January 07, 2019) due to positive investor sentiments after securing a $3.0 billion support package from UAE at the beginning of the quarter. On the other hand, sharpest single day decline of 2.0 percent was observed at the end of February (Feb 26, 2019) due to Indo-Pak conflict, though the market was later recovered after intervention by global powers.
During the month, key concerns remained negotiations between IMF and Pakistan, chatter of Pakistan''s demotion to MSCI Frontiers, FATF reservations and further depreciation of Pak Rupee; all of which kept investors at bay.
Investors remained on the sidelines during the outgoing quarter, as average volume for the quarter was recorded at 131 million shares, a 25 quarters low. During the quarter, foreigners were net buyers of $29.1 million (till March 29, 2019) against $215 million net selling in previous quarter.