LAHORE: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened with bulls unresponsive. Similar to the previous few sessions the benchmark KSE 100 index hovered around the 45,000 mark all day long. The lazy indices gained some momentum in the late hours and managed to close a little in the green.
Meanwhile, the cement sector garnered investors’ interest amid strong demand for cement dispatches and the expected price hike of Rs10 per bag. Consequently, cement sector added 67 points to index in Wednesday’s trading session.
The KSE 100 index slipped 104.68 points to intraday low of 44,899.51. The index touched day’s high of 45,323.77 just minutes before close and settled higher by 168.80 points at 45,172.99. The KMI 30 index shed 269.80 points and appreciated 410.24 points before ending up 248.32 points at 76,459.90. A rise fueled by the cement sector. The KSE All Share Index added 134.11 points with 177 advancers to 162 decliners.
Market participation in terms of volumes traded improved by 5 per cent from last sessions 235.44 million to 248.11 million, similarly, the value went up by 12 per cent. TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +4.99 per cent) remained volume leader here on Wednesday and closed at upper lock as the company is going for Initial Public offering (IPO) of its indirect subsidiary IBEX. Pakistan Elektron Limited (PAEL +3.73 per cent) and Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +3.26 per cent) followed with 17.50 million and 13.96 million shares traded.
The cement sector was top gainer which topped up its market capitalization by 1.39 per cent. Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK) gained 1.46 per cent, DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) appreciated by 1.80 per cent, Cherat Cement Company Limited (CHCC) by 2.16 per cent and Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL) by 3.26 per cent.
Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited (FATIMA -1.61 per cent) declared financials for the year ended December 31, 2017. The company reported sales growth of 11 per cent year-on-year to Rs37.62 billion. Gross profit margin remained flat (FY16 : 53 per cent, FY17 : 54 per cent) while operating profit margin was slightly lower from 42 per cent to 40 per cent, with 8 per cent extension in net profit the management announcement per-share earnings of Rs5.04 along with a final cash dividend of Rs2.25.
Top five stocks FFC (+3 per cent), MCB (+1.7 per cent), LUCK (+1.5 per cent), TRG (+5 per cent) and FCCL (+3.3 per cent) added 132pts to the index gain whereas stocks including HBL (-1 per cent), UBL (-0.4 per cent), ABL (-1.9 per cent), FFBL (-1.9 per cent) and HMB (-1.2 per cent) withheld 57 points from the index.
WYETH Pakistan (WYETH) announced its financial results, where EPS of the company clocked in at Rs16, up by 96 per cent YoY, due to increase in revenues by 39 per cent YoY and rise in GP margins by 3ppts YoY to 20 per cent.
Meanwhile, the government is all set to secure a commercial loan of $1 billion to $1.5 billion from Chinese banks within the next two weeks to shore up the depleting foreign currency reserves, senior officials said
Moreover, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will announce the Monetary Policy Statement for next two months on Friday. It is expected, key policy rate is likely to increase by 25bps to 6.25 per cent.
Technically speaking, the KSE 100 index staged a reversal in Wednesday’s session following a weak close in the previous session and closed in green; closer to resistance at 45,494. Immediate support is 44,785 (Monday’s low) and 44,341 (50WEMA).
