Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) bounced back on the first trading day of the week, after benchmark Kse-100 gained 261.72 points by the closing bell, and clocked at 41,068.82 index level.

On Monday, the index remained range-bound throughout the session due to lack of any evident triggers. However, the index surged over 300 points, before the session closing, as value hunters jumped in to cherry pick oversold stocks at attractive rates. The buying activity, primarily led by individual investors, was triggered by previous session’s selling pressure due to the roll over week’s last day.

During the session, the Index traded in a range of 445.61 points or 1.09 percent of previous close, showing an intraday high of 41,115.10 and a low of 40,669.49. While, the buying chart at the investment table was led by Individuals, with $11.7 million worth of equities followed by Companies with $3.8 million worth of equities and Broker proprietary trading with $2.9 million worth of equities. However, foreign investors remained the net sellers of worth $19.7 million worth of equities.

The volume chart was led by Hum Network Limited followed by TRG Pakistan Limited and Pakistan Refinery Limited. The scrips exchanged 88.66 million, 31.85 million and 25 million shares, respectively. While the volume at kse-100 was recorded at 184.5 million shares, while the overall market volume stood at 388.55 million shares.

Sectors which lifted the index were technology & Communication with 57 points, Commercial Banks with 50 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 48 points, Cement with 36 points and Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 25 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by TRG Pakistan Limited which contributed 49 points followed by Pakistan State Oil with 39 points, Muslim Commercial Bank with 22 points, United Bank Limited with 20 points and Lucky Cement Limited with 20 points.

However, sectors which added pressure to the index were Fertilizer with 33 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 15 points, Tobacco with 11 points, Automobile Parts & Accessories with 1 point and Leather & Tanneries with 1 point. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by Bank Al Habib Limited which stripped the index of 16 points followed by Engro Corporation Limited with 16 points, Pak Tobacco Company Limited with 11 points, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited with 11 points and K-Electric Limited with 7 points.

Global Markets: Investors book profit amid historic gains

Global stocks were edging towards their best performance in decades as Covid-19 Vaccine optimism and upbeat manufacturing data in China swayed equity investors. European stocks traded mixed, but were still on track for their best month on record – as global markets paused for breath following a bumper month on the back of positive vaccine news. Meanwhile, Wall Street was headed towards its best monthly performance since January 1987, as the blue-chip 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average witness 11.8% rise in November till the weekend.

In Asia, Stocks largely remained in the negative territory on Monday, as investors’ cash in some of the historic gains registered during the month. Among the regional markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led the losses, and declined 2.06% to close at 26,341.49, followed by South Korea’s Kospi index fell 1.6% to close at 2,591.34. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei 225 also followed the regional trend and declined 0.79% to close at 26,433.62, after it saw its best month since January 1994, according to FactSet. Chinese stocks also shed earlier gains to slip on the day as the benchmark index Shanghai composite declined 0.49% to approximately 3,391.76.

European markets also traded mixed on Monday, as investors took a breather following November’s strong rally. The Pan-European Stoxx 600 traded slightly lower during afternoon deals but was still up 14.8% on the month, heading for its best monthly gain since records began in 1986. Airline stocks in the region were up 48% month-to-date, according to Refinitiv data, on track for their best month in history. Among the regional markets, UK’s FTSE-100 and CAC-40 in France traded 0.40% and 0.35% lower. However, bucking up the trend, Germany’s DAX index edged higher and gained 0.37%.

In U.S, Wall Street also witnessed profit booking during the early session as the Dow traded 301 points lower, while the S&P 500 slid 0.5%. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite also traded lower by 0.3%. The November rally was led by cyclical sectors-those most economically sensitive groups, amid a slew of positive vaccine news. Energy, 2020?s biggest loser, has jumped 32% this month, while financials, industrials and materials have all gained at least 12% during this period.

However, the market was speculative on Monday as investors digested news reports that the Trump administration is weighing blacklisting Chinese leading chipmaker SMIC as well as national offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC. The move would limit their access to American investors and escalate tensions with China before President-elect Joe Biden takes over.