Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)extended its gains into third consecutive session on Wednesday, as benchmark kse-100 index cross 42,000 support level after over two months.

On December 2nd, earlier trading kicked off on a positive note and the benchmark index climbed steeply as a host of positive triggers encouraged investors to pour money into the market, indicating an end to an extensive dry spell of market volume as market participation stood at 280.96 million shares,

Market sentiments continue to rally primarily on Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)’s decision to collect capital gains tax (CGT) on stock trading once a year, instead of collecting the tax every month. The news, in particular, encouraged market participants to make fresh investment and kept stock trading in the positive territory throughout the day.

Moreover, the vaccine optimism also injected fresh momentum in the market, after the federal cabinet on Tuesday approved allocating $150 million to procure coronavirus vaccine and reducing the cost of injections needed to treat the virus. The announcement sent a wave of certainty among investors, as immediate procurement of vaccine will help to treat the fast spreading Covid19 virus.

During the session, the Index traded in a green zone throughout the session, registering its intraday high at 42,074.11 after accumulating 408.84.22 points. The buying chart at the investment table was led by Insurance Companies, with $2.41 million worth of equities followed by broker proprietary trading with $2.19 million worth of equities and Individuals with $1.9 million worth of equities. However, foreign investors remained the net sellers of worth $7.48 million worth of equities.

The volume chart was led by Unity Foods Limited followed by TRG Pakistan Limited and Pakistan Refinery Limited. The scrips exchanged 39.76 million, 38.58 million and 34.6 million shares, respectively.

Sectors which lifted the index were Automobile Assembler with 75 points, Commercial Banks with 57 points, Technology & Communication with 38 points, Cement with 34 points and Power Generation & Distribution with 31 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by Bank Al HabibLimited which contributed 42 points followed by TRG Pakistan Limited with 41 points, Millat Tractors Limited with 40 points, Hub Power Company Limited with 24 points and Lucky Cement Limited with 23 points.

However, sectors which continued to added pressure to the index were Paper & Board with 5 points, Vanaspati& Allied Industries with 3 points, Insurance with 1 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 1 points and Leather & Tanneries with 1 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by Pakistan Petroleum Limited which stripped the index of 13 points followed by Packages Limited with 5 points, Habib Bank Limited with 4 points, EFU General Insurance Limited with 3 points and Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited with 3 points.

Global Markets: Stocks slip after strong December start

Global stocks took a breather on Wednesday, as equity investors booked their profit following a strong rally in the first two days of December. The markets were coming off a strong performance in November, which has placed them on course to achieve their best performance in decades,following Covid-19 Vaccine optimism and hopeful economic data.

In Asia, stocks traded mixed as investors remained absent from the markets. Among the major bourses China’s Shanghai composite declined fractionally to about 3,449.38, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 finished its trading day marginally higherat 26,800.98. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also remained range bound and closed 0.13% lower at 26,532.58. Xiaomi shares in Hong Kong, which were suspended earlier on Wednesday, plummeted 7.07% on the day, while the Chinese smartphone maker announced Wednesday plans to raise nearly $4 billion by selling new shares and bonds. However, South Korea’s Kospi index only recorded some major movements during the session, and gained 1.58% to close at 2,675.90.

European stocks were also mixed throughout the trading session, following a trend set by other global markets. During the day, the pan-European Stoxx 600 traded slightly below the flat line, with autos stocks shedding 1.1% to lead losses. Among the major markets, UK’s FTSE-100 bucked up the regional trend, and closed 1.01% higher, however, Germany’s DAX and CAC-40 in France declined 0.55% and 0.18% respectively.

In U.S, Wall Street also witnessed a partial retreat taking a breather following a strong start to the month that lifted the S&P 500 and tech heavy Nasdaq Composite to record highs in the previous session.During the early trading hour, 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average slid 63 points, while the S&P 500 fell 0.2%.Nasdaq Composite also declined by 0.6%.

The sentiments at Wall Street dipped after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellrejected a bipartisan proposal for a $908 billion stimulus package aimed at breaking the stalemate over new stimulus in Congress. The market sentiments also took a hit after President-elect Joe Biden told The New York Times that he would not immediately remove tariffs placed by the Trump administration targeting China.

The markets were coming off of their best performance in November, asthe 30-stock Dow rallied 11.8%, posting its best one-month performance since January 1987. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also rose 10.8% and 11.8%, respectively, for their strongest monthly advances since April.