PSX Closing Bell: Dream Bigger

October 19, 2023 (MLN): The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a strong rally today, with the benchmark KSE-100 index surging by 1.89% to close at 50,365.15, above the key 50,000 barrier.

To note, the KSE-100 index has closed above the 50,000 level for the first time since May 31, 2017.

The index gained 933.68 points, driven by positive sentiments in the market after yesterday’s T-Bills auction, which hinted at the market strongly pricing in that interest rates have peaked.

The auction saw the highest-ever participation in the 1-year T-Bills, with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) receiving bids worth Rs2.155 trillion.

This suggests that the market is anticipating a relatively stable or downward trend in interest rates.

The index remained positive throughout the session, and traded in a range of 963 points showing an intraday high of 50,399.92 (+968.45) and a low of 49,436.92 (+5.45) points.

The KSE-100 index witnessed widespread buying momentum, with trading volumes climbing to approximately 249.126 million shares, higher than the 157.2 million shares traded yesterday.

The positive sentiment was further fueled by the Pakistani Rupee (PKR)’s recovery today, which gained 1.47 rupees against the US Dollar.

This recovery follows a notable depreciation of PKR in the previous trading session.

Of the 100 index companies 77 closed up, 20 closed down, 1 was unchanged, while 2 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was supported by Commercial Banks with 209.86, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 203.4, Fertilizer with 153.15, Power Generation & Distribution with 116.92, and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 94.33 points.

Companies adding points to the index were PPL with 108.79, ENGRO with 104.35, HUBC with 90.1, OGDC with 79.72, and PSO with 57.37 points.

KSE-100 Index was let down by Synthetic & Rayon with 6.38, Miscellaneous with 3.3, Transport with 2.87, Leather & Tanneries with 2.17, and Property with 1.67 points.

Companies dragging the index lower were RMPL with 9, TRG with 8.07, IBFL with 6.38, PSEL with 4.65 and UNITY with 3.36 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 33,626.52 with a net gain of 575.64 points.

Total market volume was 427.477 million shares compared to 332.607 from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs14.59 billion showing an increase of Rs5.77bn.

There were 178,725 trades reported in 361 companies with 255 closing up, 94 closing down and 12 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 8,912 points or 21.5% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 9,945 points, equivalent to 24.6% in the KSE-100.

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