KARACHI – After several days of bearishness and intense selling pressure on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), bulls finally took control of the market on Tuesday. Local investors and large financial institutions bought aggressively in the market due to stabilization in global oil prices and improvement in the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, as a result of which the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed with a remarkable increase of 1,091.66 points.
According to market analysts, preparations for the federal budget and hopes of gradual improvement in the country’s economic indicators also played a major role in this recovery. The index opened at 163,033.72 points at the start of the trading day. The initial session saw some volatility,stabilisationvolatility, but as demand for shares of major banks and fertiliser companies increased, the index moved sharply upwards. During the trading session, the market touched an intraday high of 164,309.65 points, while at one point it also fell to an intraday low of 162,563.58 points. However, at the end of the day, the index managed to close at 162,896.68 points with a gain of 0.67%.
A total of 169.98 million shares were traded in the market during this major recovery, which shows the increasing interest of investors. This development is being termed ‘very positive’ in terms of fiscal policy and corporate results. If the long-term performance is examined, the market has given a remarkable return of 29.67% during the current financial year so far (FYTD), which is a sign that the Pakistani capital market still remains attractive for long-term investors. On the other hand, the market has recorded a decline of 6.41 per cent since the beginning of the current calendar year (CYTD), which experts are calling a result of the geopolitical tensions of recent months.
The banking sector played the most important role in today’s business, where United Bank Limited (UBL) led the way with a phenomenal increase of 288.01 points. This was followed by Bank Al Habib (BAHL) contributing 152.69 points to the index. In addition, Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) proved to be the major “puller” that pushed the market up with 142.76 points and Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC) with 140.83 points.
On the contrary, Engro Holdings (ENGROH) was the top detractor among the companies that pushed the index towards a decline, which alone lost 105.07 points from the market. Meezan Bank (MEBL) and Cherat Cement (CHCC) fell by 20.77 points and 17.74 points, due to which the index could not maintain its high level. Experts say that if the government comes out with clear and investor-friendly policies regarding the IMF programme and budget in the coming days, then this bullish trend in the market can continue. The business community has appealed to the government to take steps to expand the tax net in a way that does not put additional pressure on the manufacturing and corporate sectors.
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