Closing Bell: Better late than never!

March 26, 2019 (MLN): Its better to arrive late than not to come at all. This phrase gives an epic description of the KSE-100 index’s performance today, as it finally showed some improvement after a long-standing stay in the red region. The benchmark index went up by 200 points and closed at 38,329 points.

The ironic fact is that this improvement comes after the SECP Chairman Mr. Farrukh Sabzwari met PSX Stockbrokers Association (PSA) today, to discuss the trend at domestic capital markets which had extended a shadow of concern over investors, as traders continued to lead sell-offs amid lack of positive triggers.

At this meeting, Secretary General, Mr. Adil Ghaffar highlighted the issues associated with volumes and stated that current turnover in stock market will eventually lead many stock brokers/TREC Holders out of business.

He stressed that the present regulations are cumbersome and Regulatory environment should be relaxed to allow TREC Holders to concentrate on marketing rather than complying with over-regulations.

Thereafter, Mr. Sabzwari said that many of the proposals submitted by PSA have been approved and numerous are under process.

Nevertheless, the E&P sector emerged as the best performer as it lifted the index by 101 points after Prime Minister Imran Khan hinted towards a possible discovery of Asia’s largest oil and gas reserves in Pakistan’s offshore waters.

The major scrips that contributed in the index’s performance were OGDC (+2.73%), PPL (+1.99%), MARI (+1.88%), SNGP (+2.62%) and SEARL (+2.00%).

The index observed trading of 50 million shares of the listed scrips, having a total value of Rs. 3.13 billion. Within a range of 333 points, the index touched an intra-day high of 38,372 points and an intra-day low of 38,039 points. 

The broader KSE All Share index’s performance also improved considerably, as it gained around 148 points and closed at 28,061 points. It traded nearly 86 million shares, having a value of Rs. 3.5 billion.

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