KSE-100 surges over 850 points as clarity emerges in IMF talks

By
Business Desk
|
October 20, 2021

Benchmark index once again surpasses 45,000-point mark to settle at 45,499.46 on Wednesday

Men talk as they stand in front of electronic board displaying share market prices during a trading session in the hall of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in Karachi, March 9, 2020. — Reuters/File


The bulls ruled the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in a rally on Wednesday, which pushed the KSE-100 index up by over 850 points as Pakistan's talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) seemed to be progressing well.

On Tuesday, IMF Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department Jihad Azour said talks between Pakistan and the IMF on the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) are progressing in a "very good" manner. He also clarified that the IMF mission and Pakistani authorities are discussing the measures that the government of Pakistan is currently contemplating.

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Moreover, a decline in the current account deficit for the month of September — which narrowed down to $1.47 billion in September 2021 — added fuel to the uptrend.

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

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share index recorded an increase of 870.01 points, or 1.95%, to settle at 45,499.46 points.

In its post-trading commentary, Topline Securities noted that Pakistani equities witnessed a strong rally today owing to improvement in sentiments due to a better than expected current account deficit number which clocked in at $1,113 million in September 2021 (versus a deficit of 1,473 million in August 2021).

The report added that TRG Pakistan, Lucky Cement, Engro Corporation, Mari Petroleum and HBL were the major gainers which cumulatively added 272 points to the benchmark index.

The benchmark index got support mainly from cement and oil stocks. Earlier, trading started positively and the market kept on rising throughout the day to end above the 45,000-point mark.

However, a few timely dips were noted at regular intervals which were tackled immediately. All index-heavy stocks performed well during the trading session, while cement and fertiliser sectors remained entirely in the green.

During the session, shares of 361 listed companies were traded. At the end of the session, 274 stocks closed in the green, 79 in the red, and 8 remained unchanged.

WorldCall was the volume leader with 49.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.25 to close at Rs2.53. It was followed by Hum Network Limited with 24.8 million shares, gaining Rs0.36 to close at Rs6.50, and Byco Petroleum with 15.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.24 to close at Rs7.53.



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