KARACHI: Bulls of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came out victorious after a tough battle with bears on Wednesday.
The indices started off on a positive note but lost its momentum during the afternoon session. However, it managed to recover the losses and closed the day in the positive territory.
On the economic front, Pakistan’s fiscal deficit rose by 58pc to a record Rs3.4 trillion in FY19, making up 8.9pc of the gross domestic product. The increase has been attributed to a decline in revenue collection and failure in controlling expenditures.
Accumulating 527.97 points, the benchmark KSE-100 Index marked its intraday high of 31,112.82. However, the rally was short-lived with the index falling to an intraday low of 30,551.91. After a tug of war between bulls and bears, the index finally closed higher by 52.86 points at 30,637.71. The KMI-30 Index gathered 172.34 points to close at 48,341.92, while the KSE All Share Index managed to gain 13.43 points, settling at 22,541.10.
Positivity at the KSE-100 Index was owed to the banking sector (+36.10 points), oil and gas exploration sector (+35.92 points) and fertiliser sector (+31.43 points). On the other hand, pharmaceutical sector (-18.24 points), investment banking sector (-18.00 points) and cement sector (-13.30 points) dented the index the most.
Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL +3.77pc) declared its financials for the second quarter of FY19 along with an interim cash dividend of Rs1.25 per share. The company’s revenue increased by 72pc YoY, while its earnings per share rose from Rs0.64 in the same period last year to Rs0.96.
Silk Bank Limited (SILK +1.18pc) declared an EPS of Rs0.01 for 2QFY19 (Rs0.05 in 2QFY18), Soneri Bank Limited (0.00pc) announced an EPS of Rs0.2283 for 2QFY19 (Rs0.2866 in 2QFY18), while BankIslami Pakistan Limited (BIPL -4.99pc) posted an EPS of Rs0.3856 for 2QF19 (Rs0.0264 in 2QFY18).
Other banking companies, including Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL +3.38pc) and National Bank Of Pakistan (NBP -2.20pc), declared an EPS of Rs3.23 and Rs3.25 for 2QFY19 with the former declaring an interim cash dividend of Rs1.00.
Akzo Nobel Pakistan Limited (AKZO +0.13pc) also announced its financial performance for the second quarter of 2019. Sales declined by -2.90pc YoY while earnings per share appreciated from Rs1.94 in the same period last year to Rs2.39 in the current period.
