Equities bounce back

Declining by 0.48 percent the day before, stocks rebounded Tuesday gaining 330 points on the back of what analysts said the rally in the banking and E&P scrips. The KSE-100 index, showing volatility in the intraday trade, rose 0.95 percent to close at 34,897 compared to the previous 34,567. Trading turnover ended higher at 198 million shares the value of which appreciated to Rs 9.22 billion from Rs 7.04 billion on Monday. Of the total 347 issues traded, 171 posted gains, 154 lost their worth and that of 22 remained unchanged.
The market capital accumulated beyond Rs 7.23 trillion. Foreign portfolio investment landed in the green marking a net buying of $702,224. "The market opened on a negative note and made an intraday low of -93 points but recovered during the later hours on the back of a rally in the banking and E&P sector," said Arhum Ghous of JS Research.
The banking sector attracted investor interest on the back of inflation numbers, clocking in at higher-than-expected 4.17 percent, released by PBS Monday. Analysts at Topline Research attributed the bullish close to rallying large cap stocks such as OGDC, HBL, UBL and MCB. Bank of Punjab, which declined to Rs 9.04 at close, led volumes with 22 million shares. PTCL, OGDCL, Dewan Motors, K-Electric, TRG Pakistan, Byco Petroleum, SNGPL, JSCL and Pak Elektron were other most-traded issues.
Banking heavyweights like HBL, UBL and MCB rose 1.57, 2.41 and 2.47 percent. In the E&P sector, OGDC emerged volume leader gaining to close near its upper circuit. Topline analysts said OGDC was in the limelight today as rumours regarding its possible inclusion in the list of Shariah-compliant stocks circulated in the market. "Record six-year high volume was seen in the scrip with 11.4 million shares traded with total value of $14.7 million," they said. Renewed interest was seen in cement stocks as D G Khan Cement and Fauji Cement Company increased by 1.7 percent each while Maple Leaf Cement went up by 1.1 percent. Futures trade rose to 38 million contracts from the previous 37 million. "We remain bullish on the market," said Arhum.