Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed partial recovery on Wednesday as benchmark kse-100 index rose 180.76 points before the closing bell to clock at 43,087.70level.

On Wednesday, the benchmark index halted its three-day losing streak during which it lost over 869 points. Wednesday’s recovery came on account of positive trade figures and fertilizer numbers. Investor sentiments were lifted after Pakistan’s current account recorded a surplus for the fifth consecutive month in November at $447 million as compared to a deficit of $326 million during the same time last year, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Tuesday.”In contrast to the previous five years, the current account has been in surplus throughout FY21 due to an improved trade balance and a sustained increase in remittances,” the central bank said on Twitter.

Investor sentiments were also buoyed by upbeat fertilizer data after total nutrient offtake during the month of November 2020 was recorded at 542 thousand tonnes, showing an increase of 13.9 percent as against November 2019.Nitrogen offtake was 346 thousand tonnes which increased by 28.2 percent while phosphate offtake was 191 thousand tonnes which decreased by 5.3 percent. Potash offtake increased by 23 per cent as compared to November 2019.Total production of all fertilizer products during November 2020 was 765 thousand tonnes. Out of this urea production was 515 thousand tonnes. Other fertilizer products were: DAP 77, Nitrophos 89, CAN 71, SSP 9.5, SOP 0.9 and different grades of NPK 2 thousand tonnes. Total imported supplies were about 164 thousand tonnes comprising 143 thousand tonnes of DAP, 0.4 thousand tonnes of SOP, 1.5 thousand tonne of MOP, 19 thousand tonnes of AS and 0.1 thousand tonnes MAP during November 2020.

During the day, the stock market also took cue from stability in international crude oil prices as well as renewed buying activity in the cement sector. Besides cement, investors also opted for banks, oil & gas marketing, exploration & production sectors, thus helping the index stage a recovery.The benchmark KSE-100 Index moved in a narrow range today, registering its intraday low at 42,852.79 after losing 54.15 points and high at 43,216.16 after gaining 309.22 points.

During the session, the volume at Kse-100 index decreased from 201.17 million shares from the previous session to 164.65 millionshares, however, the over-all market volumes surged from 561.855 million shares in the previous sessionto 378.94 million shares. The volume chart was led by Pakistan Refinery Limited followed by Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited and TRG Pakistan Limited. The scrips exchanged 26.98 million, 17.67 shares and 16.22 million shares, respectively.

Sectors, which lifted the index were Cement with 81 points, Automobile Assembler with 19 points, Engineering with 18 points, Commercial Banks with 17 points and Insurance with 17 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited which contributed 21 points followed by HabibBank Limited with 20 points, Lucky Cement with 18 points, ENGRO with 18 points and Cherat Cement Company Limitedwith 13 points.

However, sectors which dented the index were Textile Composite with 19 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 13 points, Automobile Parts & Accessories with 6 points, Pharmaceuticals with 4 points and Investment Banks with 2 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by Mari Petroleum Company Limited which stripped the index of 17 points followed by Kohinoor Textile Mills Limited with 10 points, Pakistan Oilfields Limited with 10 points, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited with 10 points and Meezan Bank Limited with 9 points.