Stocks close flat with end session recovery amid mixed sentiment

KARACHI: Stocks closed flat on Friday with a slight recovery at the end of the session amid strong earnings outlook despite investors’ concerns over the early termination of contracts with independent power producers (IPPs).

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index increased by 30.18 points or 0.04 per cent to 85,483.4 points against 85,453.22 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 85,750.19 points while the lowest level was recorded at 84,774.46 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks showed recovery in late-session buying led by banking and auto scrips on strong earnings outlook.”He said that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) revision of exposure limits for SMEs, upbeat data on car sales and record $2.8 billion remittances in September played a catalyst role in the positive close.

The KSE-30 index increased by 10.7 points or 0.04 per cent to 27,159.68 points against 27,148.97 points.Traded shares increased by 57 million shares to 560.74 million shares from 503.75 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs26.121 billion from Rs27.912 billion. Market capital narrowed to Rs11.156 trillion against Rs11.161 trillion. Of the 435 companies active in the session, 130 closed in green, 251 in red and 54 remained unchanged.

Nabeel Haroon, analyst at Topline Securities, said negotiations with IPPs where 5 IPPs agreed to terminate their power purchase agreements (PPA) early has changed market sentiment, as the KSE-100 index largely traded in negative zone during the trading session, making an intraday low of 679 points. However, some recovery was observed at the closing hours of trade as the index recovered to close slightly above Thursday’s closing -- 85,483 (up by 0.04 per cent).

Major positive contributions to the index came from PSO, FFC, EFERT, PIOC and UBL, as they cumulatively contributed 276 points to the index. On the flip side, HUBC, LUCK, HBL, TRG and SRVI lost value to weigh down on the index by 327 points.

The highest increase was recorded in Nestle Pakistan Limited shares, which rose by Rs153.70 to Rs6,931.45 per share, followed by Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which increased by Rs116.35 to Rs7,144.35 per share. A significant decline was noted in Hallmark Company Limited, which fell by Rs120.64 to Rs1,092.67 per share; Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs88.5 to Rs17,612 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that the PSX closed the week on a strong note, with the KSE-100 index gaining 2.2 per cent and reaching new all-time highs. Despite overall market gains, HUBC (-5.17 per cent) was the main drag on the index, trading down to the maximum -10 per cent during the morning session before recovering slightly by the close.

The outlook for next week remains positive, with strong support around the 83,000 level. Although the index has hit the 86,000 target and faces resistance at current levels, there are no clear signs of a downturn. Market sentiment continues to suggest further gains in the near term, with price action expected to remain bullish in the coming sessions.

Hub Power Co XD remained the volume leader with 58.159 million shares which closed lower by Rs4.83 to Rs106.90 per share. PTCL followed it with 51.351 million shares, which closed higher by Rs1.18 paisas to Rs15.7 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included WorldCall Telecom, Hum Network, Kohinoor Spinning, PIA Holding Company, Secure Logistics Gro, Maple Leaf, Fast Cables Ltd and Fauji Cement XD. In the futures market, 325 companies recorded trading, of which 112 increased, 209 decreased and 4 remained unchanged.