PSX Closing Bell: Sell the News

September 27, 2024 (MLN): The rally in Pakistan stocks that drove them to their all-time highs hit a wall as market experienced the widely known 'buy the rumor, sell the news' phenomenon after the International Monetary Fund approved the much-awaited $7 billion loan package.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index concluded Friday's trading session at 81,292.13, showing a decrease of 365.83 points or 0.45%.

The Executive Board of the IMF on Wednesday approved a 37-month Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan worth around $7bn. The Board’s decision allows for an immediate disbursement of about S$1bn.

Traders had piled into stocks in anticipation, which had sent the equity market to fresh records. However, the index closed in the red on both Thursday and Friday following the approval.

The index traded in a range of 659.24 points showing an intraday high of 81,842.74 (+184.78) and a low of 81,183.50 (-474.46) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 Index was 153.49 million shares.

Of the 100 index companies 21 closed up, 70 closed down, 8 were unchanged, while 1 remained untraded.

Top losers during the day were KTML (-7.20%), KEL (-4.43%), PKGP (-4.29%), YOUW (-4.08%), and TRG (-3.84%).

On the other hand, top gainers were FFBL (+3.35%), FFC (+2.87%), PAKT (+2.21%), GLAXO (+1.96%), and EFERT (+1.88%).

In terms of index-point contributions, companies that dragged the index lower were MARI (-83.20pts), UBL (-80.16pts), ENGRO (-45.23pts), MCB (-43.61pts), and BAFL (-41.10pts).

Meanwhile, companies that added points to the index were FFC (+136.96pts), EFERT (+68.24pts), FFBL (+22.96pts), HUBC (+20.46pts), and LUCK (+14.36pts).

Sector-wise, KSE-100 Index was let down by Commercial Banks (-266.23pts), Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (-83.27pts), Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (-40.77pts), Technology & Communication (-34.83pts), and Power Generation & Distribution (-26.85pts).

While the index was supported by Fertilizer (+182.93pts), Tobacco (+7.91pts), Property (+2.24pts), Chemical (+1.89pts), and Glass & Ceramics (+0.08pts).

In the broader market, the All-Share Index closed at 51,978.01 with a net loss of 291.80 points or 0.56%.

Total market volume was 339.32 million shares compared to 423.94m from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs12.89 billion showing a decrease of Rs4.78bn.

There were 190,876 trades reported in 439 companies with 129 closing up, 234 closing down, and 76 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 2,847 points or 3.63% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 18,841 points, equivalent to 30.17%.

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