Stocks close higher as hopes rise on IMF bailout

Stocks closed higher on Friday as investors weighed the finance minister's assurance of agreement nearing with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the bailout package, traders said.

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index went up 0.38 percent or by 152.48 points to close at 40,000.83 points against 39,848.35 points recorded in the last session. Intraday high was 40,000.83 points, while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 39,729.61 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks showed recovery as investors weighed FM assurance over technical discussions completed and agreement nearing with IMF paving way for the release of bailout funding.”

Institutional support at quarter end close and easing political noise played a catalytic role in the bullish close, Mehanti added.

KSE-30 index also increased by 85.79 points or 0.58 percent to close at 14,852.81 points compared with 14,767.02 points recorded in the last session.

Volumes went up by 24 million shares to close at 112.200 million shares from 88.701 million shares previously, whereas value decreased to Rs3.933 billion from Rs3.988 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs6.108 trillion from Rs6.093 trillion. Out of 294 companies active in the session, 155 closed in green, 110 in red and 29 remained unchanged.

Analyst Ali Najib at Topline Securities said it was a range-bound day at Pakistan equities. The index went into the red zone in early trading hours but buying interest in the last hour (due to quarter end) supported the benchmark to eventually settle at 40,001 (+152 points; up 0.38 percent) for the day.

During the day, BAHL, EFERT, FFC, PSO and MEBL added 110 points, cumulatively. On the flip side, ENGRO, PSEL and OGDC witnessed some profit-taking as they lost 55 points collectively.

The highest increase was recorded in the shares of Bata (Pak), up Rs94.26 to close at Rs2,033.68/share, followed by Nestle Pakistan, up Rs40.10 to close at Rs5,017.50/share. A significant decline was noted in the shares of Pak Services, down Rs35.90 to end at Rs840.10/share, followed by Philip Morris Pak., down Rs34.57 to end at Rs426.43/share.

Brokerage Arif Habaib Ltd said the market started in the green and went on to trade both ways as bulls and bears battled for control of the bourse throughout the day. “The continuing political turmoil and the delay in signing the SLA for the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility kept investors at bay,” it reported. However, fresh buying was seen across the board during the last trading hour, as the index ended in the green.”

Mainboard volumes remained dull while 3rd-tier stocks led the volume board. Sectors contributing to the performance included commercial banks (+39.4 points), cement (+28.1 points), fertiliser (+19.9 points), OMCs (+15.7 points), and power generation and distribution (+13.4 points).

Pak Int. Bulk remained the volume leader with 12.120 million shares which closed higher by 46 paisas to stand at Rs4.22/share. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 6.523 million shares, which increased by 32 paisas to close at Rs11.30/share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Hascol Petrol, WorldCall Telecom, Pakgen Power, K-Electric Ltd., Telecard Limited, Waves Corp Ltd., Maple Leaf and Pak Petroleum. Shares’ turnover in the future contracts dropped to 141.947 million shares from 179.582 million shares.