Weekly Market Roundup

Market Roundup

The KSE-100 index gained 619.91 points during the departed week and closed at 40,807.09-mark i.e. nearly 1.54% percent higher than the closing of the previous week.

According to a research note by AKD Securities, the index began the week with negative sentiment with the government mulling over measures to contain rising cases of COVID-19, hinting a complete lockdown. To add, IMF hinting at the government’s need to undertake unpopular measures (electricity and gas rate hikes, targeting higher tax collection, etc) to resume the IMF program further dampened the sentiments.

‘Monetary policy announcement of interest rates maintained at 7% in scheduled MPC meeting, despite negative real interest rates, resulting in some exuberance among investors. A rise in international oil prices on the back of mass availability of vaccines in 2021 brought interest in index heavyweight E&Ps in the remaining trading sessions, where profit-taking in the last trading session pared some of the gains’, the report added.

Oil and Gas Exploration and Technology & Communication emerged as the best performing sectors during the week, as they contributed 480 points to the benchmark index, followed by sectors such as Commercial Banks, Chemicals and Vanaspati & Allied Industries contributed around 47, 31 and 20 points, respectively.

Company-wise, the scrips of POL, TRG, PPL, OGDC and SYS were the most desirable ones as they contributed 98, 90, 90, 88 and 60 points to the index respectively.

During the week, The All Share Market Cap increased by nearly USD 47 billion, i.e. 2.31% higher than the previous week.

Figures released by NCCPL showed that foreign investors sold USD 9.26 million worth of stocks during the week with foreign corporates doing the bulk of selling amounting to USD 9.87 million.

On the local front, local companies purchased USD 3.38 million worth of stocks, followed by insurance companies with USD 2.91 million while USD 2.69 million worth of stocks bought by individual investors. Other significant transactions included USD 2.80 worth of stocks sold by Banks/DFI.

Forex

PKR ended the week with gains of Rs.1.26 against the dollar in the interbank, appreciating in all but the final trading session.

The dollar traded in a range of Rs.2.25 hitting a weekly high of Rs.161.15 (bid) and a low of 158.90 (ask) as 10 Day volatility increased from 5.36 % to 6.70%.

PKR has appreciated by 5.38% during FY21, however, it’s still 2.89% down during CY20.

Money Market

Yields in the secondary market remained relatively stable with the SBP holding the policy rate at 7% and the outgoing week bereft of any auction. 3 and 6-month yields were unchanged while the 12-month yields increased by 5 bps. Similarly, 3, 5 and 10-year yields increased by a paltry 1, 3 and 9 basis points.

Copyright Mettis Link News