Stocks surge 720 points, close above 80k amid strong economic indicators

KARACHI: Stocks surged by 970 points on Wednesday amid buying in blue-chip stocks across the board, as economic indicators remained strong for investors.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index surged by 970.2 points or 1.22 per cent to 80,461.34 points against 79,491.14 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 80,587.44 points while the lowest level was recorded at 79,798.75 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed bullish on speculations ahead of the IMF’s executive board meeting on September 25 for approval of the $7 billion new IMF EFF amid robust economic data on surging remittances, exports and falling trade deficit.”

He said that the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) affirmation on a $2 billion annual concessional loan till 2027 and a strong rupee played a catalyst role in the bullish close.The KSE-30 index increased by 399.58 points or 1.59 per cent to 25,468.18 points against 25,068.60 points.

Traded shares dropped by 136 million shares to 400.195 million shares from 536.187 million shares. The trading value rose to Rs15.904 billion from Rs8.911 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs10.61 trillion against Rs10.533 trillion. Of the 439 companies active in the session, 186 closed in green, 199 in red and 54 remained unchanged.

Maaz Mulla, an analyst at Topline Securities, said the KSE-100 index opened on a positive note, where the bourse made an intraday high of 10,96 points to close at 80,461 level (up by 970 points or 1.22 per cent).

Broad-based buying was observed in blue-chip stocks, where heavyweights such as MARI, EFERT, UBL, MEBL, and FFC posted significant gains, collectively contributing to a notable 682-point rise.

PIOC declared its FY24 result from the cement sector, where the company posted an EPS of Rs22.79 along with a cash dividend of Rs10 per share.

The highest increase was recorded in Sapphire Textile Mills Limited, which rose by Rs57.88 to Rs1,148.77 per share, followed by Mari Petroleum Company Limited, which increased by Rs41.59 to Rs457.49 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs182.77 to Rs17,367.23 per share; Sapphire Fibres Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs121.42 to Rs1,300.10 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that the KSE-100 surged past the 80,000 mark, driven by solid performances across key sectors. In macroeconomic news, Pakistan’s current account for August recorded a $75 million surplus, a marked improvement from the $164 million deficit in July.

The outlook remains optimistic, with rising support at 79k and the next target set at the July highs of 82k.WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 32.229 million shares which closed lower by 3 paisas to Rs1.36 per share. TRG Pak Ltd followed it with 22.086 million shares, which closed higher by Rs5.45 to Rs59.9 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Pace (Pak) Ltd., Loads Limited, Ist. Capital Sec, Cnergyico PK, Kohinoor Spinning, Secure Logistics Gro, BO Punjab and K-Electric Ltd. In the futures market, 318 companies recorded trading, of which 153 increased, 163 decreased and 2 remained unchanged.