KARACHI: Pakistan equities carried the momentum from last week and closed Monday with strong gains as the benchmark KSE100 Index surged up by 719 points or 1.6 percent to finish near 45,000 level. Market displayed relative strength from the word go as cements along with select notable blue-chips from oils, fertilizers and pharmas leading the advance on strong institutional flows. Overall volumes increased by 41 percent from the previous trading session, while in value terms the same increased by 23 percent. Monday’s major volumes leaders were AMTEX (+45%), POWER (+8.16%) and TRG (+4.69%). Major contribution to the index came from HUBC (+3.94%), LUCK (+3.01%), ENGRO (+1.86%), DGKC (+5%) and PSO (+3.53%) cumulatively contributing +206 points to the index. On the news front, country’s Current Account Deficit sharply increased by 59 percent during the first half of this fiscal year, mainly due to rising goods import bill. A rally was seen in the cement sector as investors opted to cherry pick stocks such as LUCK (+3.01%), DGKC (+5%), CHCC (+5%) and PIOC (+5%) on back of the news that All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has urged the government to support the industry with application of anti-dumping duty on Iranian cement and reduction of taxes. Steel sector continued to perform as well as MUGHAL (+5%), CSAP (+2.60%) and INIL (+1.80%) increased to close in the green zone on the back of speculation of increase in steel prices. Exploration and Production (E&P) sector closed higher than its previous day close, where OGDC (+1.45%) and POL (+0.26%) increased the most. JS Research’s analyst Maaz Mulla expects the market to maintain its positive trend however he recommends investors to accumulate valued and growth stocks on dips. On leader board, Hub Power HUBC PA +4% contributed most points to KSE100 Index. Pakistan State Oil PSO PA +3.9% too landed itself among top five movers with investors likely betting on inventory gains in the upcoming quarterly earnings. “Any further gains from current levels would require strong liquidity to sustain the ongoing bullish momentum hence direction of foreigners flows will be very critical. We advise letting the market to cool-off a bit and suggest profit-taking”, said Elixir Securities’ analyst Jawwad Abubakr. Published in Daily Times, January 23rd 2018.