Daily Times

Spike, swoon and repeat has become the new normal for Pakistan exchange as stocks took a dip on Wednesday following a day of recovery. Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) benchmark kse-100 index failed to sustain gains accumulated in early trade, as political uncertainty and border skirmishes between China and India cumulatively dented the investor sentiment.

Index soared more than 350 points in early trading but lost momentum gradually in last trading hours due to selling pressure triggered by political upheaval, consequently Index lost 170.44 points to settle at 33,849 level, down by 0.5% compared to the previous close. The investors changed reversed their upward trend after Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) announced his party’s withdrawal from its alliance with the PTI-led federal government over its failure to implement accords with the party. The withdrawal comes at a time when the ruling coalition is aiming to pass budget 2020-21 in the both houses of the parliament.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the positive territory during the earlier trading, recording its intraday high at 34,396.38 after gaining 377 points, while after losing its ground, index touched an intraday low of 33,775.76. The market closed at 34,019.12 points on Tuesday. The total volume traded for the index remained increased from 101.55 million shares to 144.16 million shares while the overall volumes surged from 217.92 million shares in the previous session to 340.65 million shares.

The volume chart was led by Unity Foods Limited, followed by Jahanghir Siddiqui & Company Limited and Pakistan Refinery Limited Right Shares. The scrips exchanged 43.91 million, 28.95 million and 13.80 million shares, respectively.

Sectors, that dented the index included banking with 76.01 points, cement with 50 points and fertilizer with 41.71 points. Among the scrips, MCB Bank Limited stripped most points off the index with 42.20 points, followed by Engro Corporation Limited with 26.03 points and United Bank Limited with 24.64 points.

While the sectors that posted earlier gains and lifted the index were Food & Personal Care Products with 11 points, Tobacco with 8 points, Investment Banks with 6 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 6 points and Insurance with 5 points. Among the scrips, NESTLE contributed most points to the index by adding up 10 points followed by Hub Power Company Limited with 10 points, Oil & Gas Development Company Limite with 10 points, The Searle Company Limited with 9 points and Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited with 8 points.

Global Markets: Global stock markets recorded a mixed trend and extend gains on Wednesday following a day of recovery over optimism of economic recovery as Investors closely followed the news of successful trial of first life-saving drug against Covid-19 that could cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators, while for those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth, according to the researchers.

In U.S, Investors struggled for direction at Wall Street following a big stock rally in the previous session that was fueled by a growing belief the worst may be over for the world’s largest economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat in volatile trading, after rising more than 100 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 traded 0.1% higher after dipping lower earlier. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed, rising 0.6%. The rally at Nasdaq was supported by Apple stock, which posted a record high. Apple nears another record, as I Phone manufacturer raised its price target on Tuesday to $400, citing the 5G upgrade cycle and wearables growth as catalysts. The prediction surpassed the less-than-a-week-old price target high set by Bank of America, making Citi the street’s biggest Apple bull.

In Asia, stocks were mixed throughout the day with Shares in Japan lagged, as the Nikkei 225 shed 0.56% to close at 22,455.76. However, other major indexes extended yesterday’s gains with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rising 0.56% while Shanghai composite and South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.14 % each.

European stocks also rallied on the second consecutive day after healthcare stocks led the gains as most sectors and major bourses ended in positive territory.

CAC-40 in France gained 0.88% led the gains on the region while German benchmark index DAX edged higher by 0.54%. UK’s FTSE-100 also closed 0.17 % higher while, pan-European Stoxx 600 surged around 0.7%.

The stocks will pick up the future direction from escalating geo political tensions and events that will follow as investors closely follow tensions between North Korea and South Korea. The tensions worsened after North Korea blew up a symbolic liaison office near the border which was built to improve ties with the South. The North Korean army has also threatened to send troops into disarmed areas along the border.

Pyongyang has accused the South of “systemically breaching and destroying” recent 2018 agreements, including the Panmunjom Declaration. Meanwhile, conflict at Ladakh region between China and India will also play an important role in navigating the future course of the global markets.