KARACHI: Bulls continued to rule the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, with the KSE-100 Index crossing the psychological barrier of 36,000 points amid soaring volumes.
It may be noted that the PSX has been registering gains since June 26th, following the surprise State Bank policy rate cut by 100 basis points. In the last 10 sessions, the domestic equity bourse has risen by 7.2pc (+2,423 points).
Tahir Abbas, Head of Research at Arif Habib Limited, attributed the positive sentiment to the declining trend in Covid cases. “With the economy reopening, fewer cases suggest an early recovery. Moreover, the SBP has provided businesses with the much-needed stimulus in the form of policy rate cuts and slashing of refinancing rates.”
Commenting on the surge in volumes, Abbas stated, “Investors are moving their funds from fixed income towards equities in light of the change in policy rates and expectation of greater returns on the PSX.”
In line with the recent trend, the benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green throughout the day, recording its intraday high at 36,190.70 after gaining 495.81 points. It closed higher by 447.28 points at 36,142.17.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index accumulated 717.31 points or +1.26pc to end at 57,597.86, while the KSE All Share Index gathered 252.51 points, settling at 25,815.29. Of the total traded scrips, 212 advanced and 107 declined.
The overall market volumes surged from 317.68 million shares in the last session to 467 million shares, a level last seen on 5th Dec 2019. Traded value also increased by 20pc, from $94 million, a figure last touched on 21st Apr 2020. Of the total volume, 333.05 million shares belonged to KSE-100 scripts.
Unity Foods Limited (UNTIY +8.51pc), Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +3.86pc) and TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +1.85pc) led the volume chart on Thursday, exchanging 40.65 million, 39.57 million and 38.44 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that drove the index north included banking (+218.50 points), oil & gas exploration (+79.56 points) and power generation & distribution (+48.20 points). Among the companies, Habib Bank Limited (HBL +55.86 points), Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +42.90 points) and Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL +34.72 points) remained the top contributors.
The reason behind the uptick in oil & gas and power generation & distribution sectors was an improvement in the rupee – dollar parity.
Adding 2.88pc to its cumulative market capitalization, the banking sector turned to be the session’s top gainer, with Habib Bank Limited (HBL +3.31pc), United Bank Limited (UBL +1.83pc), Bank AlFalah Limited (BAFL +6.40pc) and Standard Chartered Bank (Pakistan) Limited (SCBPL +3.85pc) posting decent gains.
Meanwhile, in a notification to the exchange, Dolmen City REIT (DCR -0.18pc) informed that the board of directors have decided to waive 45pc rent for tenants having retail outlets in Dolmen Mall (Clifton) for the month of July 2020. “The minimum rent will not be charged from those [shops] that are closed or have limited operations, while 40pc rentals will be charged for tenants of ‘Harbour Front’ for the month of July,” it added.
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