Daily Times

Pakistan Stock exchange ended the week on a positive note as index rebounded to edge higher closing at 43,167-mark.

The market was lifted up by positive sentiments as total foreign investment in debt securities climbs to $2.257 billion after T-bills worth $536 million were bought by foreign investors during the latest auction. The latest auction represents the first time that foreign investment in T-bills has crossed $500 million in a single session.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s data, the United Kingdom bought $457 million of T-bills, while the United States bought the same worth $80 million. As per the data, during the July 2019-January 2020 period, foreign investment in T-Bills has reached $2.233 billion along with foreign investment in Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), at $24 million.

Benchmark KSE-100 Index began the session on a negative note, losing 47.60 points to record its intraday low at 43,017.50. However, the index pared its early losses in the second half, ending higher by 102.68 points at 43,167.77.Other indices followed a similar pattern, with KSE-30 Index recording its intraday low at 19,928.35 after losing 36.5 points and the KMI-30 Index shedding 240.22 points to register its low at 69,863.67. However, following the prayer break, the KMI-30 Index closed higher by 172.53 points while the KSE-30 Index finished with a minor gain of 31.97 points.

Of the 93 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 51 closed up 40 closed down, while 2 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 125.33 million shares. All Share Volume decreased by 18.46 Million to 211.41 Million Shares. Market Cap increased by Rs.21.02 Billion.

The volume table was led by The Bank of Punjab and TRG Pakistan Limited, exchanging 27.82 million and 23.95 million shares, respectively.

Sectors propping up the index were Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 18 points, Automobile Parts & Accessories with 18 points, Fertilizer with 12 points and Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 11 points.

The most points added to the index was by Pakistan Services Limited which contributed 22 points followed by Pakistan State Oil with 17 points, Thal Limited with 13 points, Meezan Bank Limited with 13 points and Engro Corporation Limited with 13 points.

Sector wise, the index was let down by Textile Composite with 12 points, Investment Banks 11 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 7 points, Engineering with 3 points and Commercial Banks with 1 points.

The most points taken off the index was by Muslim Commercial Bank which stripped the index of 19 points followed by Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited with 9 points, Bank of Punjab with 6 points, The Hub Power Company Limited with 5 points and National Bank of Punjab with 5 points.

Meanwhile, The large-scale manufacturing (LSM) output decreased by 5.9pc in the first five months (July-Nov) of the current fiscal year (FY20) compared to the same period of the previous fiscal.

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), LSM contraction in November was recorded at 3.78pc as compared to October 2019, and 4.61pc when compared with November 2018.The Ministry of Industries & Production, which monitors 15 industries, reported a 3.63pc decline while provincial bureaus reported 1.49pc contraction in 11 industries during the first five months of FY20.Sectors that posted growth on an annual basis included textile (+0.48pc), fertiliser (+8.04pc), non-metallic mineral (+1.91pc), leather products (+7.7pc), engineering (8.3pc), rubber (1.6pc) and wood 60pc.

In Asia: Stock Markets across the region was driven up by positive sentiments after U.S and China signed a trade deal agreement on January 15th ending global economic friction after 18-month of trade war.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng led the gains in Asia closing 0.60% higher to clock at 29056.42 points. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped to a 15-month high earlier in the session, last rising 0.45% to close at 24,041.26. Mazda stocks surged 5.77%, while Suzuki Motor bounced 4.04%. Subaru jumped 4.27%, and Mitsubishi Motor added 2.47%.

South Korea’s Kospi also rose to a 15-month high earlier in Friday’s session, last edging up 0.11% to close at 2,250.57.The Bank of Korea kept its benchmark rate steady at 1.25%, as expected following two cuts last year. While The Shanghai composite traded flat to close at 3,075.50 after China’s GDP data revealed on Friday largely met analyst expectations. It announced its economy grew by 6.1% in 2019, meeting expectations even amid a trade dispute with the U.S. Its GDP grew 6.0% on-year in the fourth quarter of 2019.However, the growth remained unchanged from the pace in the third quarter, which was believed to be its slowest GDP gain in at least 27½ years.

China’s growth has been hit by the trade dispute with the U.S., among other factors. But both giants signed a “phase one” deal this week, which included some tariff relief. Data earlier this week also showed that the country’s exports rose for the first time in five months in December, and its imports beat estimates.