Bulls return to Pakistan bourse

KARACHI: After two gloomy sessions, the bulls returned to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

The market opened in the green territory and remained in that range, as the investors choose to cherry picking selective equities at appealing levels in search of value to add to their portfolios.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said that the stocks showed strong recovery in the earnings season on the affirmation by the central bank chief over easing foreign exchange crisis in the coming days and institutional interest in the oversold scrips.

“The midsession pressure remained on the World Bank delays over $1.1 billion loan, government’s decision to raise gas prices and political uncertainty. The investors’ speculations over imminent receipts from the UAE and Saudi Arabia for financial support and surging global crude oil prices played a catalytic role in the bullish close.”

The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed at 38,791.09 points, up 448.88 points, or 1.17 per cent. The volumes decreased 25.7 per cent from 205.9 million shares to 153.1 million shares. The average value of the traded securities also decreased 25.4 per cent to $21.9 million as against $29.3 million.

Analysts said following the SBP governor’s much-needed clarification on the letters of credit (LCs) issue, the investors’ involvement grew dramatically, resulting in the index making an intraday high of 603.76 points. The mainboard volumes remained healthy.

“Going forward, we expect downward pressure and volatility to persist in the market until political uncertainty is resolved and successful conclusion of the IMF’s ninth review programme is reached,” a report issued by Pearl Securities noted.

Also Read

Rupee weakens 25 paisas in interbank forex market

KARACHI: The rupee weakened 25 paisas against the dollar on Wednesday, owing...