Weekly Market Roundup

May 12, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan stocks resumed their bullish momentum this week, with the benchmark KSE-100 index closing at 73,086, a gain of 1,183 points or 1.65% WoW.

The positivity comes amid bets for a rate cut as early as June, following a fourth consecutive decline in weekly inflation.

Accordingly, the CPI-based inflation for May is expected to fall to about 14-15% YoY, expanding real interest rates to 7-8%.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Rupee recorded a marginal gain of 0.03% WoW.

In USD terms, the 100-index gained 1.68% this week.

Throughout the week, KSE-100 traded in a range of 1,124 points, between a high of 73,449 (+1,547) and a low of 72,325 (+423) points.

KSE-100's average traded volume was recorded at 279 million shares worth Rs14.45 billion, marking an increase of 17.04% WoW in the number of shares while a decrease of 1.86% WoW in traded value.

The overall PSX average traded volume was recorded at 717m shares worth Rs24.46bn, marking an increase of 39.09% WoW in the number of shares while 2.35% WoW in traded value.

The jump in number of shares traded was largely led by WTL. This came after it announced that its holding company, Global Tech Corporation (GTC) had started trading on NASDAQ.

On the economic front, the country received a healthy remittance inflow of $2.81bn in April, which rose 27.9% YoY.

Furthermore, the State Bank of Pakistan's reserves have risen to almost a 2-year high amid the International Monetary Fund's final tranche under SBA program.

Top Index Movers

From the sector-specific lens, Pharmaceuticals was the best performing sector, as it added 305 points to the index.

This was followed by Cement (259pts), Power Generation & Distribution (205pts), Technology & Communication (147pts), and Leather & Tanneries (126pts) points.

Contrary to that, negative contributions came from Fertilizer (236pts), Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (103pts), Synthetic & Rayon, (20pts), Tobacco (9pts), and Food & Personal Care Products (9pts).

Scrip-wise, SRVI, DAWH, HINOON, PAEL, and TRG were the best-performing stocks during the week as they added 126, 104, 87, 76, and 73 points to the index respectively.

Whereas, EFERT, MARI, ENGRO, OGDC, and MEBL collectively took away 419 points from the index.

FIPI/LIPI

Foreign investors continued to remain net buyers during the week, acquiring $2.73m worth of equities.

Flow-wise, Foreign Corporates were the dominant buyers, with a net investment of $2.67m.

They allocated the majority of their capital, $1.88m, to Fertilizer, while divesting from the All other Sectors sector, amounting to $1.17m in sales.

On the other hand, the leading sellers were Other Organization, with a net sale of $4.72m.

Their most substantial sales activity was in Fertilizer, amounting to $1.87m.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 31,633 points or 76.31% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 10,634 points, equivalent to 17.03%.

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