Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued with its bullish momentum after Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 229.20 points (+0.35 percent) to close at 65,731.79 points on Wednesday. The market opened on a positive note by adding over 400 points to the index after the bell, and remained in the green for the entire session. The experts attributed the upward trajectory to the IMF agreement. They observed that the positive momentum was in line with expectations, saying the market participants were expecting a smooth review with the IMF after the appointment of the new finance minister and the completion of all targets. They further said that the agreement ensured the new government’s commitment to continue the policy efforts. Earlier in the day, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan on the final review of a $3 billion bailout, where the country will receive $1.1 billion after approval from the Fund’s Executive Board in late April. “Pakistan’s economic and financial position has improved in the months since the first review, with growth and confidence continuing to recover on the back of prudent policy management and the resumption of inflows from multilateral and bilateral partners,” IMF’s mission chief, Nathan Porter, said in a statement. The benchmark index traded in a range of 353.08 points, showing an intraday high of 65,968.02 points and an intraday low of 65,614.94 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 165.70 points (+0.38 percent) to close at 43,694.58 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 26.23 points (+0.08 percent) to close at 31,189.26 points. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased to 170.68 million shares from 162.24 million shares a session earlier, while the overall market volumes increased to 341.84 million shares from 323.28 million shares a session earlier. Among scrips, BOP topped the volumes with 45.01 million shares, followed by WTL (34.43 million) and TOMCL (18 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included BOP, WTL, TOMCL, KEL, and KOSM, which formed around 39 percent of total volumes. A total of 341 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 340 a session earlier, out of which shares of 172 closed up, shares of 146 companies closed down while shares of 23 companies remained unchanged. A total of 96 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 95 a session earlier, out of which share prices of 50 companies closed up, 43 companies closed down and three remained unchanged. The number of total trades decreased to 138,109 from 141,924 on day-on-day (DoD) basis, while the value traded decreased to Rs11.84 billion from Rs17.06 billion a session earlier. In terms of rupee, NESTLE remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs90 (+1.21 percent) per share, closing at Rs7,510. The runner-up remained PMPK, the share price of which climbed up by Rs39.89 (+5.62 percent) to Rs749.99. RMPL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs424.49 (-4.72 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,575.01, followed by SIEM, the share price of which fell by Rs14.43 (-2.42 percent) to close at Rs582.01 per share. The major sectors taking the index towards north remained investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (109 points), fertilizer (77 points), commercial banks (39 points), paper and board (35 points), tobacco (28 points), technology and communication (18 points), and engineering (14 points). Major companies adding points to the index remained DAWH (61 points), FFC (27 points), NBP (17 points), PAKT (16 points), MEBL (15 points), PKGS (14 points), ENGRO (13 points), PTC (12 points) and MARAI and MCB (8 points) each). The major sectors taking the index towards south remained cement and oil & gas exploration companies (37 points each), synthetic and rayon (13 points), food & personal care products (12 points), oil & gas marketing companies (6 points) and refinery (4 points). Major companies depriving the index of points remained PPL (24 points), BAHL (16 points), OGDC (11 points), UBL (10 points), IBFL (7 points), and DGKC (6 points).