The market rallied in early trade today with the Benchmark 100 index up by 930 points in the first fifteen minutes of the trading session, led by Commercial Bank, Oil and Gas Exploration, Fertilizer and Cement.
100 Index continues to surge in the first half of today’s session, rising by 885 points from its previous closing and reaching 41,783 points, an increase of 2.17%.
The Intraday high so far has been recorded at 41,896 points while the low is currently at 40,897 points, moving in a bracket of 998 points.
So far in the KSE – 100 session, 68.6 million shares have been traded, valuing at PKR 4.5 billion. On the other hand, 121 million shares have been traded at KSE All Share Index, with a value of PKR 5.6 billion.
Commercial Banks remain the best performers within KSE – 100, in today’s session as well, with Oil & Gas Exploration Companies, Fertilizer and Cement following right after. Tobacco is performing the worst so far.
Mari Petroleum with an increase of Rs.43.57, Millat tractors Limited with an increase of Rs.39.95 and Wyeth Pakistan Limited with an increase of Rs.33, are the top net gainers at KSE up till now. Phillip Morris Pakistan with a decrease of Rs.123.86 remains the net loser.
Volume at KSE All Share is being led by Pak Elektron Limited as it has traded 9.3 million shares during the initial hours of the session.
According to National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) data; companies, individuals, and insurance companies have fueled the ongoing market rally as they continue to increase exposure in Cement, FMCGs, OMCs, Tech and Comm: and Power Generation and Distribution stocks amid attractive valuations.
Banks, Fertilizer, Cement, and Oil & Gas Exploration remain in the limelight. Banks are expected to continue its upward trajectory as further rate hikes amid depreciation seem imminent. Investors have also taken a liking towards the Cement and Fertilizer stocks after producers raise retail prices.
Local investors have fueled an ongoing rally in the market as index posted its second-highest point gain in the year 2018 of 965 points closing the session at 40,898 level the day before.
Furthermore, according to local media, the cost of steel and construction have seen a significant jump in input prices since the depreciation. A steel dealer said the price of high-quality rebar now hovers between Rs.107, 000 – 110,000 per tonne against Rs.97, 000 per tonne in April. Local producers of steel and manufacturing inputs warn if the trend continues, it could lead to higher prices in the housing sector. Prices of furnace oil have also increased by Rs.1, 334 per ton. Similarly, fertilizer companies have raised DAP prices by Rs.100 per 50 kg bag.
All these price increases come about in the post-devaluation scenario, and as a result, the markets are beginning to witness an inflationary trend in input prices of these various industries that analysts believe could be passed on to the consumers.
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