Business

PSX rings in budget week on positive note

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Traders believe market is expected to remain range-bound till budget announcement.
At close, it records an increase of 0.63% to settle at 41,577.21 points.
Shares of 342 companies were traded during the session.

KARACHI: The bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday following a bloodbath last week as the benchmark KSE-100 began the week with a gain of over 250 points.

Initially, the positivity came from the cement sector as prices in the south region have increased by Rs25 per bag (effective from June 6, 2022) where Lucky Cement, Maple Leaf Cement Factory, DG Khan Cement, and Kohat Cement closed higher.

Furthermore, investors’ interest also witnessed exploration and production where Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) closed higher as Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) raised gas prices for SNGPL and Sui Southern Gas Company by 45% and 44%.

Traders believe the market is expected to remain range-bound until the announcement of the federal budget 2022-23, scheduled for June 10. The outcome of the budget presented will determine the market direction in the future.

The benchmark KSE-100 index opened at 41,577.21 points and at close, it recorded an increase of 262.33 points, or 0.635, to settle at 41,577.21 points.

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

Shares of 342 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 193 scrips closed in the green, 126 in the red, and 23 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes dropped to 189.24 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 225.39 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.9 billion.

Unity Foods was the volume leader with 33.13 million shares traded, losing Rs0.21 to close at Rs21.07. It was followed by Pakistan Refinery with 16.29 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.09 to close at Rs17.46 and TPL Properties with 11.66 million shares traded, gaining Rs1.29 to close at Rs18.55.

Business

Pakistan’s GDP in FY2023–2024 stayed at 2.8 percent.

Published

9 hours ago

Farwa

The sanction was given at the National Accounts Committee’s (NAC) 109th meeting, which took place in Islamabad today.

In FY2023–24, Pakistan’s GDP growth rate was 2.38 percent, falling short of the 3.5% target.

In the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2023–2024, the GDP grew steadily by 2.09%. Agriculture, industry, and services are growing at rates of 3.94%, 3.84%, and 0.83%, respectively.

Every component of agriculture has made a good contribution during Q3, including cattle (4.20%), other crops (1.14%), key crops (2.89%, mostly wheat), and cotton ginning (61.75%). Notwithstanding the construction industry’s negative growth (-15.75%), large-scale manufacturing (1.47%), mining and quarrying (0.63), and the delivery of gas, electricity, and water (37.3%) are responsible for the industry’s 3.84% increase.

In the fiscal year 2023–2024, the industrial sector’s growth rate stayed at 1.21%. The production of crude oil (1.51%), coal (36.72%), and other minerals (7.57%), such as marble (23.22%) and limestone (7.95%), has increased, leading to a 4.85% expansion in the mining and quarrying business.

Based on the Quantum Index of Manufacturing (QIM), large-scale manufacturing has seen a nominal growth of 0.07% with a mixed trend in the production of different groups, such as food (+1.69%), beverages (-3.43%), textiles (-8.27%), tobacco (-33.59%), non-metallic mineral products (-3.89%), wood (+12.09%), Coke & Petroleum (+4.85%), and pharmaceuticals (+23.19%).

Business

Pakistan’s gold prices declined as a result of the worldwide market slump.

Published

9 hours ago

Farwa

The per tola gold price was recorded at Rs248,500 by the Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association, following a fall of Rs1,900 in a single day.

Similarly, the All Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA) released rates for 10-gram gold, which showed a loss of Rs1,630 before selling for Rs213,048.

At Rs2,850 per tola and Rs2,443.41, respectively, the price of 10-gram and per-tola silver did not change.
According to the association, the price of gold dropped by $21 on the global market, from $2,439 to $2,419.

Business

CASA-1000: Pak-Tajik FMs will facilitate project implementation early

Published

10 hours ago

Farwa

The CASA-1000 project commenced its implementation in January of 2018. As part of a $1.2 billion regional initiative, Afghanistan and Pakistan will get 1,300 MW of extra hydropower from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan that will be connected to the electricity grids of four other nations.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met with Sirojiddin Muhriddin, the Foreign Minister of Tajikistan, in a bilateral meeting during the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting that took place in this country on May 20–21. The topic of discussion was bilateral ties and projects.

The resolve of the two foreign ministers to bolster bilateral cooperation and high-level engagement was reiterated.

After the Taliban took control in 2021, construction on the CASA-1000 project was put on hold, but it has reportedly resumed in Afghanistan.

It is anticipated that Kyrgyzstan will provide the remaining 30% of the electricity needed for the CASA-1000 project, with Tajikistan providing the last 70%. Head of NENK’s (National Electricity Networks of Kyrgyzstan) public relations division Elzada Sargashkayeva told the Times of Central Asia, “[They’ll supply] a total of 1,000-1,300 MW of electricity per year.”