Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a sharp pull back on Tuesday, as stocks attempted to recover losses, incurred during previous sessions. PSX benchmark kse -100 gained 1,368 points by the session closing to cross 40,000 mark and settled at 40,480.88 index level.

During the session, the kse-100 index surged right after the opening bell, and gained as much as 1,400 points as investors re-entered the market to tap into over sold stocks, as the market exits the effect of October roll over week-which drove the major selling pressure during previous sessions. Moreover, series of positive economic indicators and news flow also lifted market sentiments during the day. Investors welcomed, easing inflation during the month of October, as Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday released official data, which stated that Inflation in the country eased slightly to 8.9% in October, from 9% in September on the back of a slight decline in prices of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Investors also cheered positive trade data, after Pakistan’s exports have crossed $2 billion in October 2020, despite the contraction in major markets and the uncertainty created by recent resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a twitter post, Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood congratulated the exporters on crossing $2 billion exports in last month. The market also took cues from the recovery in international markets, as global investors showed some resistance against surging covid-19 and rising uncertainty over resurgence of Covid-19.

During the day, the benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green zone throughout the day, marking its intraday high at 40,499.64 after gaining 1,387.46 points. At kse-100, the index volumes advanced from 205.64 million shares recorded in the previous session to 229.35 million shares, while the overall market volumes were recorded at 389.95 million shares, increasing from the previous session’s volumes of 322.29 million shares.

The volume chart was led Unity Foods Limited, followed by Power Cement Limited and Hascol Petroleum Limited. The scrips, exchanged 42.93 million, 35.68 million and 29.48 million shares, respectively.

Sectors which lifted the index were Commercial Banks with 356 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 170 points, Cement with 157 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 95 points and Fertilizer with 91 points. Among the scrips, most points added to the index was by Habib Bank Limited which contributed 83 points followed by United Bank Limited with 79 points, Pakistan Oilfields Limited with 70 points, Lucky Cement Limited with 64 points and ENGRO with 61 points.

However, sectors which continued to add pressure to the index were close End Mutual Fund with 1 point. Among the scrips, most points taken off the index was by Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited which stripped the index of 6 points followed by HBL Growth Fund (HGFA) with 1 point.

Global Markets: Upbeat Economic data lifts sentiments

Global stocks continued to advance on Tuesday after promising manufacturing data out of the euro zone and China boosted sentiments, hinting towards a revival of economic activity. Moreover, global investors treaded cautiously ahead of U.S presidential Election Day, as markets hoped for a clear winner. Markets expect clarity, as investors believed that the main threat to risk assets this week is the emergence of a contested election, so if races are tight enough for campaigns to sue to halt or extend recounts, the markets may witness a reverse of the rally.

On Monday, stocks in Asia gained across the board, as Investors continued to respond to China’s positive economic data, after a private survey showed on Monday that China’s manufacturing sector expanding for the sixth straight month in October. Among the major markets, Hong Kong’s hang send index led the gains and jumped 1.96% to close at 24,939.73, as shares of life insurer AIA rose 6.27%. South Korea’s Kospi index also added 1.88% to close at 2,343.31, followed by Chinese stocks which marched higher on the day, with the Shanghai composite posting 1.42% gain on the day.

European markets also advanced across the region, after October’s final manufacturing PMI data for the euro zone came in at 54.8, up from 53.7 in September and outstripping expectations. The upside surprise was driven in part by resurgent factory activity in Germany. Among the major markets, CAC-40 in France led the regional gains, adding 2.30% to the index, followed by Germany’s DAX and UK’s FTSE-100, each climbed 2.18% and 2.05% respectively.

In U.S, the Wall Street also extended its rally, as during the early trading hour Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 650 points higher, while the S&P 500 traded 2.2% higher. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite also traded 2% higher. The major rally was sled by tech stocks with Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft and Apple stocks all moving up more than 1%. Investors were primarily buying on dip, following a brutal week which resulted in almost a 10% decline in the stock prices.