Shares rally as budget euphoria continues

KARACHI: The equity market opened on a positive note and remained in the green zone after witnessing an across-the-board buying, dealers said on Thursday.

“The investors’ optimism was primarily fuelled by anticipated investor-friendly upcoming budget. Also, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) approved a financing of SR 901 million for the financing of Mohmand Hydropower Dam, which boosted the activity in the construction sector,” an analyst at Pearl Securities said.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares index gained 0.99 per cent, or 473.87 points, to close at 48,251.49 points. The KSE-30 shares index gained 0.8 per cent, or 155.79 points, to close at 19,537.60 points.
As many as 417 scrips were active, of which 276 advanced, 117 declined and 24 remained unchanged. The ready market volumes stood at 1.03 billion shares, compared with the turnover of 1.35 billion shares in the last trading session.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said the market traded positively, adding a total of 510 points on the bourse and closed the session at a bullish note with a gain of 493 points.

“Banks, fertiliser, cement, and technology stocks ruled the day. [The] finance minister’s comments while disclosing [the] Economic Survey also helped the market propel.”

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said that the stocks closed bullish on positive sentiments after strong remittances data for May 2021 was reported. The remittances surged 34 per cent to reach $2.5 billion during the period under review.

“[The] government’s growth target of 4.8 per cent in FY22, PSDP [Public Sector Development Programme] proposal of Rs900 billion in the Federal Budget FY22 and surging global crude oil prices played a catalytic role in the bullish close.”

An analyst at JS Global Capital said breaking free from its recent trend of volatility, the KSE-100 remained positive throughout the session and closed near its intraday high with a gain of 0.99 per cent.

From the fertilizer sector, Arif Habib Corporation (AHCL) gained 0.4 per cent, Engro Fertilizer (EFERT) was up 2.1 per cent, Engro Corp (ENGRO) surged 0.9 per cent and Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC) went up 1 per cent to close in the green territory.

The major activity was witnessed in the banking sector where the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) gained 2.7 per cent; Bank Al Falah (BAFL) was up 2.1 per cent; United Bank Limited (UBL) gained 1.7 per cent; and Habib Bank Limited (HBL) went up 1.4 per cent.

“The government is all set to present the Federal Budget (2021/22) in the parliament on Friday. Going forward, we recommend investors to avail of any downside as an opportunity to buy in [the] construction-oriented sectors,” a report issued by the JS Global noted.

The companies that reflected the highest gains included Rafhan Maize, up Rs298 to close at Rs9,898/share; and Island Textile, up Rs125.88 to close at Rs2,335/share.

The companies that reflected the most losses included Wyeth Pakistan, down Rs65.19 to close at Rs2,167.4/share; and Mehmood Textile, down Rs35 to end at Rs470/share.

Highest volumes were witnessed in WorldCall Telecom with a turnover of 329.07 million shares. The scrip gained three paisas to close at Rs4.25 share; followed by K-Electric with a turnover of 49.07 million shares, as it closed at Rs4.22/share without any change. Hum Network was the third with a turnover of 43.15 million shares, as it gained six paisas to finish at Rs8.75.

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