Support fund revives investors'' interest

Expectations over early availability of the market support fund invited fresh buying at Pakistan Stock Exchange during the outgoing week ended on May 30, 2019. BRIndex100 gained 18.75 points on week-on-week basis to close at 3,777.51 points. Average daily volumes stood at 157.240 million shares. BRIndex30 closed at 19,044.06 points, down 29.99 points with average daily turnover of 114.255 million shares.
KSE-100 index increased by 270.98 points on week-on-week basis and closed at 35,974.79 points. Trading activities however remained low due to last week of Ramadan as average daily volumes on ready counter declined by 7.7 percent to 164.78 million shares as compared to previous week''s average of 178.45 million shares. Average daily trading value however increased by 20.5 percent to Rs 7.23 billion.
The foreign investors remained net sellers of shares worth $2.95 million during this week. Total market capitalization increased by Rs45 billion to Rs 7.240 trillion.
An analyst at AKD Securities said cooling off after a jubilant last week, the index started the week in red as concerns emerged on the announced stock market fund while details of the upcoming budget weren''t very supportive with government looking towards every source possible to meet the revenue target of Rs 5.5 trillion for next year. Towards the midweek, euphoria on the back of the market support fund was witnessed again after confirmation from Finance Adviser leading to index closing the week at 35,975 points, up 0.8 percent on week-on-week basis.
News of price increase by local cement manufacturers ignited a rally in the cement sector while government looking to withdraw zero-rated status for textile players kept pressure on the textile sector. The leader board during the week included PSMC (up 19.7 percent), HASCOL (up 9.6 percent), PSO (up 6.7 percent) and APL (up 6.5 percent), whereas laggards were FFBL (down 8.7 percent), CHCC (down 7.9 percent), NCL (down 6.9 percent) and FCCL (down 6.8 percent).
An analyst at JS Global Capital said after four volatile trading sessions, Pakistan equities closed the week at 35,975 levels as the benchmark index gained 0.8 percent. As was the case last week, the stock market support fund remained in the limelight and has seemingly revived investors'' interest in Pakistan''s equity markets. In this regard, various news flows circulating on social media and news channels suggest that Rs 25 billion fund has been approved and is expected to be launched soon.