KARACHI: Stocks recovered during the outgoing week and closed the week upwards. The market is expected to keep up the positive momentum next week on strong valuations. Besides, the pressure of the closing will end, which would likely generate positive activity.
“We expect the stock market to sustain its positive momentum, supported by an influx of fresh liquidity driven by the ‘January effect’. Furthermore, the attractive valuations of scrips are likely to strengthen investor confidence, providing additional support to the market’s upward trend,” stated brokerage Arif Habib Ltd.
The week began with a remarkable recovery, as the KSE-100 index surged by 4,411.3 points on Monday, marking the second-highest single-day gain in the index’s history. This rally was primarily driven by fresh inflows following the steep correction in the previous week. As the week progressed, the market sentiments remained mixed.
The market concluded the week on a positive note, closing at 111,351 points, reflecting a weekly gain of 1,838 points or 1.68 percent week-on-week. Average volumes arrived at 796 million shares (down 31 per cent WoW), while the average value traded settled at $154 million (down by 25 per cent WoW).
Foreigner selling continued during this week and clocked in at $6.8 million compared to a net sell of $11.6 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in banks ($4.7 million) followed by all other sectors ($2.0 million). On the local front, buying was reported by individuals ($14.9 million) and banks/DFIs ($4.8 million).
Sector-wise positive contributions came from commercial banks (781 points), fertilizer (456 points), OMCs (337 points), technology & communication (228 points) and oil & gas exploration (54 points). Scrip-wise positive contributors were UBL (439 points), DAWH (314 points), Engro (262 points), TRG (226 points) and PSO (213 points).
Negatively contributing sectors included cement (188 points), power (102 points) and textile composite (33 points). Scrip-wise negative contributions came from FFC (252 points), LUCK (105 points), SYS (92 points), CHCC (74 points) and ATRL (62 points).
Analyst Nabeel Haroon at Topline Securities said the market returned to its positive course after the negative weekly closing for the week ended December 20, 2024, as the low-interest-rate environment and lack of investment avenues continue to attract investor interest in the market.
Abdul Basit, an analyst at JS Research, said the week commenced in green, followed by two corrective sessions and finally closing on a positive note on Friday. Local selling continued throughout the week mainly by mutual funds.
During the week, the government raised Rs827 billion through the T-bill auction, where yields remained flat compared to previous cut-offs. Notably, the government is in the process of presenting the tax law amendment bill, aiming for stricter measures for non-filers to improve tax collection. The cabinet also took into consideration the lack of uniformity in gas pricing for fertiliser plants.
In other news, according to banking industry data, banks have almost reached the 50 percent advance-to-deposit ratio needed to avoid the imposition of additional taxes.
Moreover, auto-financing, after posting two consecutive months of MoM growth, witnessed a marginal decline during November 2024 arriving at a negative growth owing to seasonal fluctuations.
State Bank of Pakistan reserves witnessed a decline of $228 million to $11.85 billion due to external debt repayments. The PKR depreciated by 0.22 per cent WoW, ending the week at 278.47 against the greenback.
Weekly SPI increased by 0.8 per cent WoW for the week ending Dec 26, 2024, marking the highest level in 25 weeks.
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