KSE-100 extends gains as bullish trend continues after mixed start

A bullish trend prevailed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with the benchmark KSE-100 Index up 515 points during the trading session on Tuesday.

The KSE-100 remained in positive territory for most part of the day and hit an intra-day high of 64,658.17.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 64,454.22, up by 514.81 points or 0.81%.

A mixed trend was witnessed among the index-heavy sectors with some including commercial banks, pharmaceutical, cement, oil and gas exploration companies and refinery trading in green, while others including automobile assemblers, and OMCs trading in red.

Experts said that the buying is driven amid the commencement of corporate result season

Moreover, investors remain interested in the energy sector amid reports that the government has shared its “dividend plug-in back scheme” with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said experts.

On Monday, led by a buying spree in oil and gas sector stocks, the bourse witnessed a bullish trend in the final hours of the trading session with the benchmark KSE-100 Index settling at 63,939.41, up by 657.19 points or 1.04%.

However, Business Recorder reported that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has reportedly raised objections on circular debt reduction plan tailored by Caretaker Minister for Power and Petroleum Muhammad Ali, saying that under the Standby Arrangement (SBA) with the IMF, GoP has committed not to allow supplementary grants for any additional unbudgeted spending over the parliamentary approved level in CFY 20 23-24.

Globally, Asian stocks witnessed a rally on Tuesday as traders were cheered by reports that Chinese authorities were considering a blockbuster boost to equities after a painful start to the year.

The surge came after another record day on Wall Street where optimism about the outlook for the US economy has taken the place of expectations for a string of interest rate cuts starting in March.

Investors were also keeping an eye on the Bank of Japan’s board meeting, hoping for fresh clues about its plans for monetary policy as inflation remains elevated and the yen sinks, which has in turn sent the Nikkei towards an all-time high.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong piled on more than three percent in the morning session and Shanghai also pushed higher after it emerged that Premier Li Qiang called for more “forceful” measures to support China’s battered stocks and give a shot in the arm to investor confidence.

The rupee maintained its upward momentum against the US dollar for the fifth consecutive session, appreciating 0.02% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the rupee closed at 279.79 after a gain of Re0.06 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 425.7 million from 298.7 million a session before.

The value of shares rose to Rs25 billion from Rs12.5 billion in the previous session.

Oil & Gas Dev. was the volume leader with 53 million shares, followed by Fauji Foods Ltd with 45 million shares, and K-Electric Ltd. at 28.4 million shares.

Shares of 354 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 209 registered an increase, 127 recorded a fall, while 18 remained unchanged.