PSX closes higher over likely IMF agreement

KARACHI: The Pakistan stocks closed higher as investors weigh imminent International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout staff level agreement and likely government decision to reduce petroleum prices impacting industries.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said that institutional interest ahead of major earning announcements played a catalyst role in the bullish close.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index gained 1.25 per cent, or 518.76 points, to close at 41,862.77 points. The KSE-30 shares Index gained 1.50 per cent, or 236.02 points, to close at 15,963.65 points.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said that the market started the day on a negative note as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased the policy rate by a massive 125 basis points.

“However, the positive rally was witnessed in the last hours of the session as the market sources suggested that the agreement between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is near its completion wherein the official announcement is likely to take place by later tonight,” he added.

Furthermore, the global oil prices came below the level of $100/barrel which further boosted the investors’ sentiment, he added.

“Going forward, we expect the market to react in line with the official announcement of staff level agreement. Therefore, we recommend our investors adopt “Buy on Dip” strategy in the ongoing week,” he said.

As many as 325 scrips were active of which 212 advanced, 90 declined and 23 remained unchanged.

The ready market volumes stood at 164.82 million shares, compared with the turnover of 99.08 million shares in the last trading session.
The companies which reflected the highest gains included Allawasaya Textile up Rs141.84 to close at Rs2,033.17/share, Exide (PAK) up Rs19.70 to close at Rs282.42/share.

The companies which reflected the most losses included Mehmood Textile down Rs40 to close at Rs800/share, and Sanofi-Aventis down Rs24.67 to close at Rs1,385.41/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in TPL Properties with a turnover of 14.93 million shares. The scrip gained 94 paisas to close at Rs20.62/share, followed by Sui North Gas with a turnover of 13.57 million shares.

It gained Rs2.80 to close at Rs 39.75/share. The Oil & Gas Development Authority remained the third with a turnover of 9.97 million shares. It gained Rs3.17 to finish at Rs83.63/share.