Daily Times

Kse-100 index witnessed a volatile session on Wednesday as Stocks continued to climb up the ladder following a steady bull-run. The index clocked at 38,836.27 points after gaining 209 points by the day’s closing. Benchmark Kse-100 index has embarked upon a compact start on the back of solid rally in the banking sector as it is set to unveil its first half-year earnings.

The market witnessed volatility during the trading session amid profit taking and strong investors’ participation as volumes during the day improved by 52% to 369mn whereas traded value increased by 39% to Rs17.2 billion. Among the major buyers, Mutual funds led the scale buying $6.9 million worth of equities, followed by companies which bought $2.1 million worth of equities. However, foreign investors remained the net sellers of worth $2.1million of equities. The market continues to exhibit strength as it has recorded over 13% run-up since June 01, 2020, beginning of the financial year over solid market fundamentals and earnings season.

The active market participation continues to build upon series of economic factors and the results season which has been ticking higher the performance meter against the odds. However, the market is cheering the recent increase in State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’ s reserve following its announcement that it received $505.5 million from the World Bank to sustain itself in the fight against the cocid-19 that has adversely affected the economy of the country.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green throughout the session, registering its intraday high at 39,124.33 after accumulating 497.33 points. The volume chart was led by K electric followed by Pak Elektron Ltd and TRG Pakistan Limited. The scrips exchanged 73.29 million, 35.32 million and 30.78 million shares, respectively.

The sectors which lifted the index included Cement with 62 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 59 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 49 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 25 points and Insurance with 23 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was Hub Power Company Limited which contributed 32 points followed by Lucky Cement Limited with 28 points, K-Electric Limited with 19 points, Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 19 points and Pakistan Oilfields Limited with 15 point

However, Sectors which added pressure on the index were Commercial Banks denting the index with 43 points, Fertilizer with 11 points, Tobacco with 9 points, Investment banks with 5 points and Food & Personal Care Products with 5 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by Habib Bank Limited which stripped the index of 35 points followed by Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited with 20 points, Meezan Bank Limited with 11 points, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited with 11 points and Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited with 9 points.

Global markets: Global stocks continue to witness a mixed trend on Wednesday as investors struggled to find a direction over escalating U.S- China tensions. Investors also stayed cautious ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy announcement. The markets kept fluctuating on the either side of the faltline through the trading session.

In Europe, most of the stocks struggled to stand a steady ground with retail stocks adding 1.4% to lead gains while autos dropped 1.1%. CAC-40 in France added 0.69%, while UK’s FTSE-100 gained 0.06%. Germany’s DAX index also remained flat but closed 0.12% lower.

Asian stocks also followed a mixed trend as investors continued to watch for developments on Covid-19 and mounting Sino-U.S tensions. Chinese stocks led the regional gains with benchmark index the Shanghai composite surging 2.06% to about 3,294.55. But in Japan, stocks lagged their peers in the region’s major markets, with the Nikkei 225 declining 1.15% to close at 22,397.11. However keeping up the positive trend, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.45%, while South Korea’s Kospi index closed 0.27% higher at 2,263.16.

In the U.S, stocks pared yesterday’s losses to post gains on Wednesday as Wall Street awaits the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision and developments on Republican led $1 trillion coronavirus aid bill which has reached an impasse, as Democrats have criticized the package’s limitations compared to a $3 trillion proposal that passed the House of Representatives in May. Complicating matters further, President Donald Trump on Tuesday voiced disagreement with some aspects of the bill, though talks are continuing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 357 points, or 0.2%, while S&P 500 climbed 0.8%. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite also jumped 1.1%.