Stocks up 228 points amid strong earnings outlook

KARACHI: Stocks closed higher on Thursday amid strong earnings outlook and hopes for IMF board approval of extended fund facility this month.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index increased by 228.56 points or 0.29 per cent to 78,105.98 points against 77,877.42 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 78,709.14 points while the lowest level was recorded at 77,987.83 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks showed recovery on strong earnings outlook.”He said high corporate payouts, bullish global equities, drop in NSS rates, and the likely IMF board approval for EFF this month played a catalyst role in the bullish close.

The KSE-30 index increased by 84.17 points or 0.34 per cent to 25,045.21 points against 24,961.05 points.Traded shares decreased by 13 million shares to 591.065 million shares from 604.144 million shares.

The trading value rose to Rs20.102 billion from Rs19.981 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs10.448 trillion against Rs10.402 trillion. Of 442 companies active in the session, 227 closed in green, 162 in red and 53 remained unchanged.

Naveed Nadeem, an analyst at Topline Securities, said that during the session, the index fluctuated between a high of 78,709 and a low of 77,988 points.The fertilizer, exploration & production (E&P), IT, and banking sectors saw significant contributions from FFC, POL, MCB, SYS, and MEBL, which together accounted for 253 points.

The highest increase was recorded in Hallmark Company Limited shares, which rose by Rs48.97 to Rs538.65 per share, followed by Pakistan Engineering Company Limited, which increased by Rs33.87 to Rs699.11 per share.

A significant decline was noted in PIA Holding Company Limited B, which fell by Rs84.87 to Rs883.73 per share, Nestle Pakistan Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs47.50 to Rs6,800 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that the KSE-100 Index made gains off the 78k level, rising to 78.7k before coming off in the second half of the session. Key movers included CPHL (+5.74 per cent), PTC (+10 per cent), and AIRLINK (+4.01 per cent).

FEROZ (+10 percent) announced that its subsidiary, BF Biosciences Limited, has successfully launched human insulin under the brand name ‘Ferulin’.As the market heads into the last session of the week, the KSE-100 is currently down -0.56 percent week-on-week. However, the outlook remains positive, with expectations of further upside from current levels towards the 79k mark.

Kohinoor Spinning remained the volume leader with 91.017 million shares which closed higher by Re1 to Rs9.32 per share. Yousuf Weaving followed it with 65.313 million shares, which closed higher by 86 paisas to Rs6.49 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included WorldCall Telecom, Telecard Limited, Air Link Commun, PIA Holding Company, K-Electric Ltd, Image Pakistan, PTCL and Octopus Digital. In the futures market, 332 companies recorded trading, of which 179 increased, 146 decreased and 7 remained unchanged.