Business

KSE-100 soars despite negative cues

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Optimistic investor spirits drive the flow of funds to index-heavy sectors.
KSE-100 index surge 591.27 points to settle at 44,928.83.
Shares of 362 were traded during the session.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) bounced back on Thursday as the benchmark KSE-100 surged by nearly 600 points supported by late-session buying.

Anticipation of encouraging financial results allowed investors to cherry-pick stocks that had dropped to attractive valuations following multiple rounds of hammering in the past month owing to rising political uncertainty in the country.

Optimistic investor spirits drove the flow of funds to index-heavy sectors and all heavyweights closed with modest gains.

The market players also ignored concerns raised by Moody’s regarding a negative rating due to the no-confidence motion submitted against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Meanwhile, during the month of March, the benchmark KSE-100 index rose 1.1% as positivity returned to the bourse despite deafening political noise and the commencement of a military war between Russia and Ukraine.

At the close, the KSE-100 index surged 591.27 points, or 1.33%, to settle at 44,928.83 points.

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

Arif Habib Limited in its post-market commentary noted that the market witnessed positive momentum along with improved trading volumes today.

“The benchmark KSE-100 index stayed in the green zone,” it stated, adding that investors seemed to be optimistic on the ground of decline in international oil prices and expectation of upcoming good financial results in cement stocks.

Meanwhile, on the flip side activity remained healthy in third-tier stocks.

Sectors contributing to the performance included technology (+118.2 points), fertiliser (+87.1 points), banks (+67.7 points) and cement (+41 points).

Shares of 362 were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 273 scrips closed in the green, 75 in the red, and 14 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes rose to 344.13 million shares compared with Tuesday’s tally of 268.91 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.8 billion.

K-Electric was the volume leader with 56.07 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs3.14. It was followed by Treet Corporation with 34.44 million shares traded, gaining Rs2.20 to close at Rs33.93, and Telecard Limited with 27.29 million shares traded, gaining Re1 to close at Rs14.17.

Business

There are US$13,280.5 million in foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

Business

NIMA seminar to increase Pakistan’s ship recycling industry’s capacity

Published

20 hours ago

Farwa

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.

Business

Inflows into the Roshan Digital Account surged to $7.660 billion on March 24.

Published

21 hours ago

Farwa

According to the data, remittance inflows for the month of March totaled US$ 182 million, whereas they were US$ 141 million in February and US$ 142 million in January 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs), can now engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan with the help of these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking solutions.

According to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of accounts registered under the program increased by 11,091 from 668,701 accounts in February 2024 to 679,792 accounts in March 2024.

As of March 2024, the central bank reported that foreign nationals of Pakistan have invested US $312 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, US $528 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and US $31 million in Roshan Equity Investment.

It is important to note that former prime minister Imran Khan introduced the Roshan Digital Account initiative in September 2020 with the goal of giving Pakistanis living abroad access to digital banking services for the first time.