Business

KSE-100 gains over 500 points on hopes of IMF programme revival

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

KSE-100 index closes at 41,862.77 points with a gain of 1.25%.
Market players assumed fresh positions at the bourse today.
Shares of 325 companies were traded during the session.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) opened the short trading week — after a five-day-long Eid ul Adha holiday — in the green with a gain of over 500 points.

The market players assumed fresh positions in hopes of revival of the stalled International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme which will provide a much-needed breather to the economic crisis of Pakistan.

Depreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar coupled with political instability owning to the upcoming by-polls in Punjab failed to impact to the investment climate.

The benchmark KSE-100 index traded between hope and despair, which eventually let loose the bulls, and pulled the bourse into the green.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 41,862.77 points with a gain of 518.76 points or 1.25%.

Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal

A report from Arif Habib Limited noted that the bulls triumphed in the trading session at PSX today. The benchmark KSE-100 index traded in the green zone as value buying was witnessed across the board, although the exploration and production sector remained in the limelight.

“Investors gained confidence over expectation of resumption of the IMF programme. Volumes stayed healthy in the main board,” the brokerage house noted.

Sectors contributing to the performance included banks (+140.4 points), exploration and production (+102.6 points), technology (+71.4 points), cement (+65 points) and oil marketing companies (+35.2 points).

Shares of 325 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 212 scrips closed in the green, 90 in the red, and 23 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes rose to 164.82 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 99.08 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs6.48 billion.

TPL Properties was the volume leader with 14.93 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.94 to close at Rs20.62. It was followed by Sui Northern Gas Pipelines with 13.57 million shares traded, gaining Rs2.80 to close at Rs39.75 and Oil and Gas Development Company with 9.97 million shares traded, gaining Rs3.17 to close at Rs83.63.

Business

China Contributes 43 New Foreign Firms to the 6% Growth in SECP Registrations

Published

23 hours ago

Farwa

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has registered 2,617 new firms this year, a 6% increase from 2023, with assistance from the Special Investment Facilitation Council. This increases the overall number of businesses that are registered to 231,111.

Non-profits, trade associations, and public unlisted firms make up 4% of these, while private limited corporations make up 55% and single-member companies 41%. It is noteworthy that 99.8% of the registrations were done online, demonstrating SECP’s attempts to digitise.

Real estate has 237 new businesses, services has 306, and trade has 377 new businesses. These are the main sectors exhibiting growth. While the healthcare and textile industries each had 49 new businesses, the education sector saw 101.

China contributed the most, adding 43 new companies, out of the 61 new companies that were registered as a result of foreign investment.

These recently registered businesses are anticipated to decrease imports, increase domestic production, and contribute to closing the trade deficit.

Business

PSX reaches an all-time high as the KSE-100 Index surpasses 86,000 points.

Published

23 hours ago

Farwa

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has achieved a significant milestone, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index has attained an unprecedented peak.

On Tuesday at midday, the index ascended by 788 points, attaining a record high of 86,846 points. Following the ratification of the constitutional amendments, the stock market has increased by 1500 points over a span of two days.

Earlier today, the KSE-100 Index increased by 683 points, attaining a value of 86,741 points, before concluding at this new apex.

The bullish trend was apparent from the commencement of the trading session, with the index rising an additional 555 points to reach 86,612 points throughout the day. The reinstatement of the 86,500-point threshold signifies robust market performance.

Business

In three months, Pakistan’s IT exports increased by 33.54 percent.

Published

23 hours ago

Farwa

During the first three months of FY 2024-25 (July to September), Pakistan’s IT export remittances hit US$ 876 million, a notable 33.54 percent rise from US$ 656 million during the same period previous year (FY 2023-24).

In a statement, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja stated that the amount of money sent home by the export of ICT services was US$ 292 million in September 2024, a 41.7% increase from US$ 206 million in the same month the previous year.

She stated that efforts to make it easier for businesses to conduct business in the nation are the reason why IT exports are rising and that actions are being taken to increase them.

In response to the Prime Minister’s directions, Shaza Fatima stated that the Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, the Pakistan Software Export Board, and the IT industry are dedicated to boosting IT exports with the full assistance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

A trade surplus of US$ 764 million was recorded by the IT & ITeS sector in the first three months of FY 2024–25, accounting for 87.21 percent of all ICT export remittances.

Over the same period last year, this surplus represents a 36.67 percent gain over US$ 559 million. The services industry as a whole, however, experienced a trade deficit of US$ 699 million during this period.

The largest of all service sectors, ICT export remittances from July to September 2024, were US$ 656 million, followed by “other business services” at US$ 374 million.