PSX remains bullish on approval of oil refinery policy rumours

KARACHI: The Pakistan equity market commenced the first day of the week on a positive note after the end of a rollover week, while rumours of approval of the Oil Refinery Policy instigated optimism in the sector, dealers said.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corporation said that the stocks showed recovery, amid speculations in the earnings season and surge in the global crude oil prices.

“Easing concerns over border and trade tensions with Afghanistan, likely EU approval over the GSP Plus status and expected release of the IMF [International Monetary Fund] support funds next week played a catalytic role in the bullish close.”

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares index gained 0.49 per cent, or 229.17 points, to close at 47,365.70 points. The KSE-30 shares index gained 0.43 per cent, or 81.52 points, to close at 18,995.31 points.

As many as 605 scrips were active, of which 309 advanced, 200 declined and 96 remained unchanged. The ready market volumes stood at 382.6 million shares, compared with the turnover of 382.3 million shares in the last trading session.

An analyst at Topline Securities said taking cue from the Asian-Pacific markets, Pakistan’s equities also continued to trade higher with the KSE-100 Index trading in the green zone throughout the session to eventually close up 0.49 per cent.

“The refinery sector saw renewed investors’ interest, owing to the market rumours, suggesting that the government of Pakistan has finalised the Pakistan Oil Refinery Policy 2021 after which the National Refinery Limited (NRL), Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL) and Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) all closed at their respective upper circuits.”

On the results front, Hub Power Company (Hubco) posted FY21 earnings per share of Rs25.97, which was in line with the market estimates. However, the dividend announced of Rs5/share was above analyst expectations after which the stock closed at 80.01, up 4.11 per cent for the day.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin unveiled an economic plan; wherein, the growth rate would be raised to 6 per cent in three years. “Going forward, we expect the market to remain positive; hence, we suggest investors adopt a buy on dips strategy in the ongoing week.”

The companies that reflected the highest gains included Rafhan Maize, up Rs225 to close at Rs10,250/share; and Bata Pakistan, up Rs114.5 to close at Rs1,749.5/share.

The companies, which reflected the most losses included Colgate Palmolive, down Rs44.69 to close at Rs2,705.31/share; and Wyeth Pakistan, down Rs39.9 to end at Rs1,834.99/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in Byco Petroleum with a turnover of 42.95 million shares. The scrip gained 59 paisas to close at Rs10.03/share; followed by Ghani Global with a turnover of 29.88 million shares. It shed Rs2.35 to close at Rs40.05/share. WorldCall Telecom remained the third with a turnover of 26.78 million shares. It gained four paisas to finish at Rs3.26.