Weekly Market Roundup

January 16, 2022 (MLN):  This week, the benchmark KSE100 index closed up by 417 points on a cumulative basis or 0.91% WoW to settle at 45,763 points.

The market kicked off the week on a positive note amid growing optimism on mini-budget approval and stability in USD-PKR parity, a report by Spectrum Securities said.

On the economic front, although, forex reserves dipped by $117mn to $23.9bn, however, PKR appreciated by 60paisa WoW against USD and settled at PKR 176.07/$.

However, in later sessions, profit-taking was witnessed on the back of increasing international oil prices and Pakistan requesting IMF to shift board meeting for approval towards tail end of Jan’22.

In terms of index contribution, the top 5 sectors throughout the week were commercial banks (282pts), miscellaneous (54pts), chemical (50pts), power generation & distribution companies (47pts), and oil & gas exploration companies (36pts).

Commercial banks added the most points in the index as advances witnessed a growth of 19% YoY (highest in 3-years) given the overall economic recovery and new financing schemes by SBP. Moreover, investors also factored in prospects of improvement in profitability on the back of increasing interest rates.

On the flip side, cement, technology, tobacco, fertilizer and investment banks/companies took away 181 points from the KSE100 Index. The cement sector witnessed the highest-selling pressure during the week as it alone eroded 66 points from the index on the back of a rebound in international coal prices during the week.

Scrip-wise, HBL, MCB, PSEL, HUBC, and GOLG were the best-performing stocks during the week as they added 298 points to the index, whereas SYS, LUCK, ENGRO, PAKT, and TRG took away 165 points from the index.

Flow wise, foreigners were the net buyers during the week, purchasing stocks worth $0.53mn compared to $24.2mn last week. Major buying was witnessed in technology ($0.5mn) and power generation ($0.4mn).

On the local side, the majority of the selling was reported by mutual funds, corporations and insurance companies amounting to $9.95mn, $2.45mn, and $0.15mn respectively. However, banks and individuals stood on the other side with net buying of $6.8mn and $2.9mn respectively.

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