Stocks up 808 points following reports of IMF visit next month

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed higher on Tuesday following reports of the IMF Executive Board visiting Pakistan next month and some easing in the geopolitical tensions.

The benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 808.28 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 114,872.18 points, up from 114,063.9 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 115,040.59 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 112,935.57 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Ltd said stocks turned bullish following reports that the IMF Executive Board is scheduled to meet on May 9 to discuss the staff-level agreement (SLA) for the new $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), as well as the first review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which includes a $1 billion disbursement.

He said the bullish close at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was further supported by easing political tensions, international calls from the US, China and Turkey urging restraint on Pakistan-India issues, and expectations of monetary easing by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The KSE-30 index increased by 233.51 points or 0.67 per cent to 35,267.18 points from 35,033.68 points.

Traded shares dropped by 14 million shares to 409.933 million shares from 423.938 million shares. The trading value rose to Rs29.067 billion from Rs26.458 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs13.948 trillion against Rs13.891 trillion. Of the 445 companies active in the session, 211 closed in green, 183 in red and 51 remained unchanged.

Naveed Nadeem, an analyst at Topline Securities, said the benchmark index saw significant ups and downs during the session. It dropped sharply by 1,128 points early in the day due to selling pressure, especially from leveraged investors. However, the market showed strong recovery in the second half, ending the session at 114,872 points, a gain of 808 points or 0.71 per cent.

He said that market sentiment improved as margin related selling eased and investors began to buy quality stocks at lower levels.

The recovery was mainly supported by key stocks like ENGROH, MARI, SYS, MCB, and SNGP. These names alone contributed around 760 points to the overall index gain, showing their strong impact on market movement.

The highest increase was recorded in PIA Holding Company Limited B, which rose by Rs360.85 to Rs3,969.39 per share, followed by Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which increased by Rs97.61 to Rs9,035.23 per share. A significant decline was noted in Nestle Pakistan Limited, which fell by Rs103.17 to Rs6,887 per share; Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs61 to Rs23,100 per share.

WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 29.469 million shares, which closed flat at Rs1.26 per share. Cneryico PK, with 14.819 million shares, followed it, which closed higher by 27 paisas to Rs7.81 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included At-Tahur Ltd., Maple Leaf, Kohinoor Spining, Sui North Gas, Sui South Gas, K-Electric Ltd., Big Bird Foods Ltd, and B.O. Punjab.

In the futures market, 332 companies recorded trading, 224 of which increased, 102 decreased, and 6 remained unchanged.