PSX Closing Bell: Throw a Lifeline

November 16, 2023 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 Index soared past the 57,000 mark to close today's trading session at another record high of 57,397, showing an increase of 716.96 points or 1.26% DoD.

This upswing follows the staff-level agreement successfully being reached between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities on the first review under Pakistan's Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

Pending approval by the IMF's Executive Board, the agreement will grant Pakistan access to SDR 528 million, which is around $700m.

This will bring the total disbursements under the program to almost $1.9 billion.

The index traded in a range of 1,017.73 points showing an intraday high of 57,549.27 (+869.20) and a low of 56,531.54 (-148.53) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 Index was 359.819 million shares.

Moreover, yesterday’s T-Bills auction once again reassured the market’s expectations of the peak in interest rates.

A record-high participation in 12-month MTBs was seen for the third consecutive auction.

The yields for all three tenors fell by 45-50 bps, to 21.5%.

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

To note, the central bank has kept the policy rate unchanged at 22% since June 2023, foreseeing the downward trend in inflation.

During today's session, Of the 100 index companies 50 closed up, 29 closed down, while 21 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was supported by Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 302.05, Fertilizer with 98.42, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 69.87, Technology & Communication with 53.52, and Food & Personal Care Products with 45.47 points.

Companies adding points to the index were OGDC with 138.54, PPL with 126.61, EFERT with 77.27, PSO with 51.65, and MARI with 32.61 points.

KSE-100 Index was let down by Automobile Assembler with 15.22, Paper & Board with 6.83, Refinery with 4.34, Transport with 1.46, and Property with 1.04 points.

Companies dragging the index lower were BAHL with 28.92, MTL with 21.83, BAFL with 12.49, LUCK with 8.64 and FCCL with 7.55 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 38,382.84 with a net gain of 713.58 points.

Total market volume surged by 60% DoD to 1.057 billion shares compared to 661.6 million from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs28.86bn showing an increase of Rs4.51bn.

The market volume was at the highest level since June 17, 2021.

There were 291,717 trades reported in 371 companies with 234 closing up, 116 closing down and 21 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 15,944 points or 38.46% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 16,977 points, equivalent to 42% in the KSE-100.

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