A lacklustre day at PSX, inches up 158 points

KARACHI: Continuing its last week’s trend, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) commenced the day on a positive note. Initially, the KSE 100 index witnessed bullish sentiment but in the later half market saw some profit-taking and made an intraday low at 79,368 levels before calling the day at 79,491 levels, up 158 points or 0.20%.

During the day, MEBL, DGKC, UBL, ENGRO & OGDC contributed negatively by losing 126 points, cumulatively. On the flip side, MARI, HUBC & EFERT saw some buying interest as they added 373 points, said Topline Research.

Over 535 million shares were traded today at the PSX, while total value landed at Rs.8.9 billion. PACE led the volume chart with trading of over 56.8 million shares.

Pakistan Stocks closed higher amid upbeat economic outlook amid rising exports, surging remittances, Ahsan Mehanti Arif Habib Corp. Likely approval of International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board for $7 billion new IMF Extended Fund Facility Arrangement (EFF) on September 25, strong rupee and falling leverage cost played a catalyst role in bullish close.

The mixed start of the PSX after the week was due to supply spilling over from Friday, said AHL Research.

On the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), 55 shares rose while 43 fell. Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC) saw an increase of 1.18%, Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT) rose by 0.72%, and Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI) surged by 5.83%, making them the biggest contributors to the index’s upside. Conversely, Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL) dropped by 1.09%, D.G. Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) fell by 4.56%, and United Bank Limited (UBL) decreased by 0.58%, acting as the largest drags on the index.

D.G. Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) reported its FY24 Earnings Per Share (EPS) at 1.24, compared to a Loss Per Share (LPS) of -8.3 in the Same Period Last Year (SPLY). This result was below the expected EPS of 7.06, leading to a sell-off in the stock.

Buyers of the rate cut last week remain underwater and once the excess supply is absorbed the market should resume its advance, said AHL Research. Initial support for PSX is 79,000 and the brokerage house maintains a positive outlook on the market above key support at 78,000.