Business

Lacklustre week drags PSX downward

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Investors remained on the sidelines in outgoing week.
Moody’s decision, rupee-dollar party played on investors’ minds.
KSE-100 index declined 137 points or 0.3%.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed tepid trading in the outgoing week as Moody’s rating kept market participants mostly on the sidelines.

Moody’s decision, fluctuating rupee-dollar parity, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves played on investors’ minds during the week. Resultantly, the KSE-100 index declined 137 points or 0.3% to end the week at 41,948.50 points.

The market commenced the week on a positive note as investors’ interest revived on optimism that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would maintain a status quo in its monetary policy announcement.

Investors’ interest was also fuelled by a statement from Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that Pakistan would not seek debt restructuring from the Paris Club and would meet all multi-lateral and international payment obligations.

The stock market, however, reversed the trend on Tuesday as investors opted for profit-booking owing to political and economic uncertainty.

The market extended losses as selling pressure continued to dominate as investors remained concerned over Moody’s downgrading five of Pakistan’s major banks. Investors took a cautious stance and resorted to value buying which led to some recovery during Wednesday’s session.

The bourse bounced back on Thursday and cushioned the dip amid renewed interest in selected stocks of the technology sector.

The index reversed its direction once again on the last trading session as a lack of positive triggers kept market players away from healthy participation, providing bears with an opportunity to dominate most of the trading session.

Other major developments during the week were: PSO wins arbitration case against Gunvor over LNG payments, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 2,434 new firms in September, gas condensate discovered in Sanghar, inflation rate at 19.9%, IMF projected 3.5% growth for 2023.

Meanwhile, foreign buying continued this week, clocking in at $12.3 million against a net buy of $4.7 million recorded last week. Buying was witnessed in technology ($12.4 million), power (0.8 million), and cement ($0.3 million).

On the domestic front, major selling was reported by broker proprietary trading ($4.8 million), followed by companies’ finance institutions ($4 million).

During the week under review, average volumes clocked in at 267 million shares (down by 39% week-on-week), while the average value traded settled at $44 million (down by 7% week-on-week).

Major gainers and losers of the week

Sector-wise negative contributions came from technology and communication (-117 points), commercial banks (-48 points), tobacco (-32 points), cement (-15 points), and engineering (-12 points)

On the flip side, positive contributions came from exploration and production (+46 points) and refinery (+22 points)

Scrip-wise major losers were TRG Pakistan (-207 points), Pakistan Tobacco Company (-32 points), Meezan Bank (-24 points), Engro Fertiliser (-19 points), and Engro Corporation (-18 points).

Meanwhile, gainers were Systems Limited (+83 points), Pakistan Oilfields (+20 points), Lotte Chemical (+17 points), Oil and Gas Development Company (+16 points), and Nestle Pakistan (+15 points).

Outlook for next week

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the market is expected to remain positive in the upcoming week,” given the anticipation of FATF decision over the expected exit of Pakistan from the grey list.”

“Moreover, with the ongoing result season, certain sectors and scrips are expected to stay under the limelight given the anticipation of robust results,” it said.

“The KSE-100 is currently trading at a PER of 4.1x (2023) compared to the Asia-Pacific regional average of 12x while offering a dividend yield of 9.8% versus 3% offered by the region,” the brokerage house stated.

Business

Pakistan suffers a loss of millions due to inoperable airports.

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

The Pakistani economy is strengthening and trending in the right direction, according to Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday.

Speaking at the Pakistan Saudi Arabia Business Forum, Aurangzeb stated that the goal of the government was to support the private sector rather than engage in commerce. His goal was to encourage business-to-business (B2B) trade and investment, thus he welcomed the delegation from Saudi Arabia.

Within the last 12 to 14 months, the minister saw a considerable improvement in macroeconomic stability. With the help of foreign exchange reserves sufficient to cover two months’ worth of imports, Pakistan steadied its currency, decreased its current account deficit to less than $1 billion, and produced a primary surplus.

Strong remittances, expanding exports, and a drop in inflation from 38% to 6.9% have all contributed to the consolidation of these benefits, according to Muhammad Aurangzeb. Companies have also profited from the insurance rate reduction.

Even if Pakistan’s credit rating has improved, more work needs to be done to bring it up to at least a B-. Both on the debt and equity sectors, he claimed, institutional flows were returning to the nation.

As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approved an extended program for the nation, the Islamabad Stock Exchange set a record high.

He stated that the IMF program will implement structural reforms in addition to ensuring macroeconomic stability for the long run.

The government of Pakistan remains committed to structural changes, sustainable growth, and tax reform, as stated by Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Business

Pakistan’s economy is getting better, according to Muhammad Aurangzeb

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

The Pakistani economy is strengthening and trending in the right direction, according to Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday.

thus,Speaking at the Pakistan Saudi Arabia Business Forum, Aurangzeb stated that the goal of the government was to support the private sector rather than engage in commerce. His goal was to encourage business-to-business (B2B) trade and investment, thus he welcomed the delegation from Saudi Arabia.

As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board approved an extended program for the nation, the Islamabad Stock Exchange set a record high.

He stated that the IMF program will implement structural reforms in addition to ensuring macroeconomic stability for the long run.

The government of Pakistan remains committed to structural changes, sustainable growth, and tax reform, as stated by Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Business

Remittances from Workers

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

In September of this year, the State Bank of Pakistan reported that remittances from overseas Pakistanis amounted to 2.8 billion dollars, reflecting a 29% increase compared to the remittances received in September of the previous year.

The SBP reports that, with a cumulative inflow of 8.8 billion US dollars in the first quarter of the financial year, workers’ remittances increased by 38.8 percent compared to the first quarter of the previous year.

Remittance inflows in September 2024 were primarily derived from Saudi Arabia at $681.3 million, the United Arab Emirates at $560.3 million, the United Kingdom at $423.6 million, and the United States of America at $274.9 million.