Weekly Market Roundup

November 22, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan stocks extended their record-breaking run to close in on the historic 100,000 mark, buoyed by improving economic conditions and falling bond yields.

The stock benchmark KSE-100 Index advanced 3,035 points or 3.2% to 97,798 and notched its fifth consecutive weekly gain, the longest winning streak since April.

The gauge has handed more than 56% returns to investors this year, aided by mutual funds’ net purchases of $136.5 million in Pakistani stocks, the highest since 2017, according to data compiled by MG Research.

Mutual funds are piling into local shares at a record pace on signs of improvement in the nation’s economy, declining interest rates, and a stable rupee.

Pakistan’s economy has stabilized with inflation easing significantly from a record 38% in May 2023 to 7.2% in October. That has allowed the central bank to reduce interest rates by 700bps since June in four consecutive cuts.

Consumer price gains are expected to ease further to below 5% in November, according to MG Research calculations

Despite the stock market's record-breaking rally, the KSE-100 is still traded at 5.8 times future earnings, a multiple that’s 29% lower than its 10-year average.

Throughout the week, KSE-100 traded in a wide range of 5,003 points, between a high of 99,623 (+4,859) and a low of 94,620 (-143) points.

Pakistan stock market's average traded volume rose 12.8% WoW to 990.71 million shares. Traded value also increased 5.4% WoW to Rs34.41 billion.

Market capitalization jumped by $1.11bn or 2.5% to $45.07bn over the week. In PKR terms, market capitalization stood at Rs12.52 trillion.

Top Index Movers

Sector-wise, top positive contributors were Commercial Banks (+1,475pts), Fertilizer (+1,364pts), Miscellaneous (+112pts), Pharmaceuticals (+103pts), and Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (+78pts).

Contrary to that, negative contributions came from Cement (-151pts), Refinery (-54pts), Technology & Communication (-35pts), Textile Composite (-31pts), and Automobile Assembler (-31pts).

The best-performing stocks during the week were FFC (+979pts), MEBL (+393pts), BAHL (+254pts), HBL (+207pts), and MCB (+180pts).

Whereas, the worst-performing were HUBC (-91pts), SEARL (-59pts), TRG (-56pts), LUCK (-52pts), and ATRL (-48pts).

FIPI/LIPI

Foreign investors were net sellers during the week, dumping a significant $33m worth of equities.

Flow-wise, the leading sellers were Foreign Corporates with a net sale of $31.3m. Their most substantial sales activity was in Commercial Banks, amounting to $22.2m.

On the other hand, Companies were the dominant buyers, with a net investment of $13.0m. They allocated the majority of their capital, $9.7m, to Commercial Banks.

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