KSE-100 closes above 85,000 for first time as oil & gas sector continues to attract attention

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its record-breaking streak as the benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed the 85,000 level for the first time on Tuesday.

The KSE-100 started the session with a buying spree, hitting an intra-day high of 85,824.27, followed by selling that pushed the index to an intra-day low of 84,897.99.

However, the bulls regained their grip in the final hours and helped the KSE-100 recover its earlier position.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 85,663.98, an increase of 753.68 points or 0.89%.

Experts have been attributing the bullish momentum to positive macroeconomic indicators and heavy buying in the oil and gas sector.

In its post-market report, brokerage house Topline Securities said the surge was fueled by declining bond yields and an anticipated significant decrease in inflation, sparking a wave of optimism in the market that attracted investors’ interest.

OGDC and PPL from the E&P sector were the stars of Tuesday’s trading session where both cumulatively contributed 137 points to the inclining index. Key players like BAHL, HBL, EFERT, OGDC, and BAFL fueled the rally, contributing a remarkable 664 points to the index, it added.

Meanwhile, in a key development, four Independent Power Producers (IPPs) M/s Atlas Power, M/s Saba Power, M/s Rousch Power and Lalpir Power initialed (signed) premature scrapping of pacts whereas Hubco is likely to follow suit on Tuesday or Wednesday, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

Hubco (PSX: HUBC) shares fell massively on Tuesday, and were hovering around Rs112.6 after a fall of Rs9.1 during the day.

On Monday, the PSX had continued its record-breaking rally to settle at a record high of 84,910.29.

Globally, Mainland Chinese stocks returned from an extended break with a roaring start on Tuesday, scaling multi-year highs as investor exuberance over Beijing’s aggressive stimulus measures showed no signs of easing.

The optimism though failed to spill over into other share markets in Asia, particularly Hong Kong, which reversed some of the rally it enjoyed while China was out on a week-long holiday.

China’s CSI300 blue-chip index surged 10% in early trade to its highest level since July 2022, while the Shanghai Composite Index jumped roughly the same amount to its highest mark since December 2021.

That left MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down more than 1%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar, depreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the currency settled at 277.67, a loss of Re0.03 against the greenback.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 506.56 million from 449.51 million on Monday.

The value of shares rose to Rs33.05 billion from Rs30.19 billion in the previous session.

Hub Power Co.XD was the volume leader with 45.84 million shares, followed by Pak Petroleum with 21.54 million shares, and Pak Refinery with 21.34 million shares.

Shares of 448 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 193 registered an increase, 194 recorded a fall, while 61 remained unchanged.