PSX starts 2024 in green as KSE-100 surges by over 2,000 points

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) started the New Year on a positive note as it began trading in the green zone with a surge of over 2,000 points. 

The benchmark KSE-100 index on Monday closed at 64,661.78 points, up by 2210.74 points or 3.54% from the previous close of 62,451.04 points. 

Head of Equities at Intermarket Securities, Raza Jafri, attributes the surge to energy stocks on expectations of dividend payouts as the result season approaches with the government looking serious about addressing circular debt.

"There are also expectations of greater institutional flows into equities with monetary easing expected to commence within the next few months," Jafri told Geo.tv. 

In the last trading session of 2023, stocks gained 0.64% as investors cheered the rise in foreign exchange reserves and the inflow of loans from multilateral lenders. 

The market was buoyed by the central bank's announcement that its foreign exchange reserves increased by $853 million to $7.8 billion in the week ending December 22, thanks to financial support from bilateral and multilateral sources.

Overall trading volumes decreased to 625.1 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 590.5 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs18.5 billion.

Shares of 380 companies were traded. Of these, 328 stocks closed higher, 37 fell, and 15 remained unchanged.

K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader trading in 76.4 billion shares, gaining Rs0.18 to close at Rs5.44. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 61.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.16 to close at Rs1.57, and Cnergyico PK with 54.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.37 to close at Rs5.29.

'Best year since 2010'

Meanwhile, the PSX capped its best year since 2010 as the KSE-100 index ended 2023 with a 55% gain, the third-best among global markets in local currency terms. 

The index also rose 24% in dollar terms, outpacing the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which gained 18%.

Looking ahead, analysts were optimistic about the prospects of the market in 2024, as they expect the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) program to continue, the currency to remain stable, the interest rates to decline, the earnings to grow, and the valuations to improve.

“We expect the local bourse to remain in the green zone,” stated brokerage Arif Habib Ltd. 

“Moreover, we expect an influx of fresh liquidity amid the January effect. Moreover, the scrips are trading at attractive valuations, and are expected to further boost positive sentiment at the index.”