Market Roundup
The KSE-100 index gained around 966 points during the departed week and closed at 42,023-mark i.e. nearly 2.35% percent higher than the closing of the previous week.
Commenting on this week’s performance, a report by Arif Habib Limited said: ‘With CPI declining on yearly and monthly basis to 8.21%, a strong momentum was built which took the index beyond the 42,000 level. Moreover, Pak Rupee appreciated against the greenback at PKR 165.77, which kept the sentiment positive. Furthermore, oil sales in the month of Aug’20 witnessed a jump of 21% YoY. Average weekly volume skyrocketed to levels last seen in 2005 as liquidity continued flushing into the equity market, making it the best stock market in the World on a weekly basis’.
Cement and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies emerged as the best performing sectors during the week, as they contributed about 311 points to the benchmark index, followed by sectors such Textile, Fertilizer and Chemical, which combinedly contributed 259 points to the index.
Company-wise, the scrips of HASCOL, SYS, COLG, MARI and MLCF were the most desirable ones as they contributed 66, 65, 55, 54 and 54 points, respectively.
Figures released by NCCPL showed that foreign investors sold USD 10.02 million worth of stocks during the week with foreign corporates doing the bulk of selling.
On the local front, individual investors purchased USD 15.37 million worth of stocks, followed by USD 8.5 million worth of stocks bought by Mutual Funds. Other significant transactions included USD 5.9 worth of stocks sold by Banks/DFIs.
Forex
Including gains of 73 paisa during the outgoing week, PKR has appreciated by Rs.2.52 or 1.50 percent in the last 2 weeks against the USD.
Ironically the local currency hit its all-time low during this period as well.
The dollar traded in a range of Rs.1.05 during the week, touching a high (Bid) of 166.55 and a low (Ask) of 165.50 before closing at 165.7685.
10 Day volatility increased from 3.98% to 4.21%.
Data released by the central bank showed the forex reserves of the country had increased by USD 120 million during the week ending Aug 28, 2020.
Money Market:
The Lower the expected inflation numbers failed to have any impact on the money market yields and in the absence of auctions, the yields in the secondary market were relatively stable with only 5 and 10 year PIB’s increasing by 7 & 14 basis points.
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