Stocks start week with gain of 1,078 points

KARACHI: Stocks recorded another bullish day on Monday ahead of the monetary policy review, as market participants anticipated a further cut in the policy rate.

The stock market gained on the first trading day of the week after closing positively over the weekend. The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index posted a gain of 1,078.15 points, or 1.19 per cent, to close at 91,938.

The index remained positive throughout the day, showing an intraday high of 92,159.08 (+1,299.23) and a low of 91,395.35 (+535.5) points. The total volume of the KSE-100 Index was 311.38 million shares.

Analysts noted that buying was observed in key sectors, including automobile assemblers, cement, chemicals, commercial banks, fertilisers, oil and gas exploration companies, and OMCs. Index-heavy stocks such as OGDC, PPL, SNGP, SSGC, and HCAR traded in the green.

They attributed the bullish momentum to expectations of another cut in the key policy rate. The central bank’s recent decision to cut the monetary policy rate by 250 basis points, bringing it down to 15 per cent, occurred after the market had closed. Positive corporate results and improved economic indicators also contributed to the positive sentiment in the market.

“Stocks closed at an all-time high as investors eyed a major SBP rate cut later today, following NSS rates slashed by up to 3.6 per cent due to CPI inflation at 7.2 per cent in October,” said Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp.

He noted that investment commitments from Qatar for $3 billion and Saudi Arabia for $2.8 billion, along with upbeat POL sales data surging by 18 per cent in October and rupee stability, played a catalytic role in the record bullish close at the PSX.

Stocks continued their remarkable ascent, extending their record-breaking rally as investors eagerly awaited the forthcoming monetary policy review, Naveed Nadeem, analyst at Topline Securities, noted in his post-trading commentary.

Key contributors to this surge included SYS, LUCK, CHCC, HUBC, and Engro, which collectively added 611 points.Trading activity remained vigorous, with 587 million shares exchanged, amounting to Rs29 billion. POWER was the most actively traded stock, with an impressive 56 million shares changing hands.

Of the 445 companies that traded in the session, 258 closed up, 140 closed down, and 47 was unchanged. Top gainers during the day were AGP (+9.36 per cent), SYS (+9.35 per cent), CHCC (+8.85 per cent), PABC (+7.57 per cent), and AIRLINK (+7.44 per cent).

Top losers were PGLC (-7.96 per cent), NBP (-3.38 per cent), PPL (-2.72 per cent), MCB (-2.53 per cent), and BNWM (-2.14 per cent). Companies that supported the index included SYS (+267.46 points), LUCK (+103.53 points), CHCC (+91.37 points), HUBC (+85.64 points), and Engro (+63.01 points).

Meanwhile, companies that brought the index lower included PPL (-89.64 points), MCB (-85.42 points), HBL (-36.40 points), NBP (-33.92 points), and BAFL (-9.91 points).