Stocks cheer Karachi package with 273-point rally

KARACHI: After a breather on Friday, the bulls ran amok on the first trading day of the week, tossing the KSE-100 index up by 273 points (0.65 per cent) to close at 42,296.

Investors’ interest was driven by the government’s huge package of Rs1.1 trillion for Karachi, announced by the prime minister over the weekend to essentially rebuild the dilapidated metropolis.

Day traders and speculators continued to chase mainly the second-tier stocks pouring fresh liquidity into the market. Moreover, as per Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, trade deficit narrowed by 9pc year-on-year which also comforted the investors who were craving to see the country’s economy show signs of improvement.

The fresh agreements with independent power producers were in the final stages which also kept investors active in sector stocks.

Market opened on a positive note and climbed up to intraday high by 377 points by midday. “Oil marketing companies, refinery, chemical, cement, steel, refineries and pharmaceutical sectors were the lead gainers, On the other hand, fertiliser performed well again due to expectation of deferral of GIDC collection by the Government,” stated analysts at Arif Habib Ltd. E&P, however, went down 0.83pc due to declining international crude oil prices.

The volume stepped down by just 1pc to 748.7 million shares, from 758.2m while the traded value dropped by 4pc to $142.8m from $149.2m. Stocks that contributed significantly included Power Cement, Pakistan International Bulk Terminal, Hascol Petroleum, JS Bank and Fauji Foods, which formed 32pc of total turnover Sectors contributing to the Index performance included cement, higher by 58 points, fertiliser 55 points, technology 36 points, OMCs 29 points and power 22 points.

Among scrips, National, Attock and Pakistan were gainers among refineries. Steel stocks also carried the index higher with Ittefaq hitting the upper circuit and Crescent gaining 6.8pc. International, Aisha and International Industries also closed in the green. Other major gainers were Lucky Cement, Systems, Fauji Fertiliser, Hub Power and Hascol Petroleum.