The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) halted trade after an abnormal rally after a few minutes of the week’s first trading session in reaction to Pakistan’s staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week.
After opening trade at 43,583.78 points, the market had an abnormal upswing, with the benchmark KSE-100 index rallying by 2,269 points or over 5 percent after rising to a high of 43,721.92 points within the first 5 minutes of the opening bell.
The market resumed trading at 10:37 AM. At 11:05 AM; PSX stocks rallied with all-time high one-day absolute gains of 2,446 points, with KSE-100 closing at 43,899.
The KSE-30 index rose 5 percent at the start of trade. As per regulations, in case KSE-30 Index continues to trade 5 percent above or below its last day closing index value for consecutive 5 minutes, the trading in all securities shall be halted for such duration.
On a DoD basis, the KSE-100 index displayed the best performance ever. In the last three trading sessions, KSE-100 has increased by 3,834 points (+9.57%), according to Arif Habib Limited.
Historic DoD gain witnessed at PSX today with KSE100 increasing by 2,446 points and closing at a 14 months high
KSE-100 index went up by 2,446 points (+5.90%) DoD & closed at 43,899 points. On a DoD basis, it displayed the best performance ever. In the last three trading… pic.twitter.com/22M8sLQ3Cs
— Arif Habib Limited (@ArifHabibLtd) July 3, 2023
The average daily traded volume increased by 62 percent DoD to 381 million shares (highest since 6 October 2022) while the average daily traded value also increased by 15 percent DoD at USD 30 million (highest since 4 May 2023).
At close, the KMI-30 index surged by 4547.44 points to 75,295.56, meanwhile the KSE All share index jumped by 1405.19 points to 29,516.22.
Topline CEO Mohammed Sohail said despite the fact that many stocks remained on the upper limit and the market remained off for 1 hour, Rs. 11 billion worth of shares were traded in ready and future markets. This is higher than the last 3 months average daily volume of Rs. 7 billion.
Interestingly with a 6 percent rally in the benchmark KSE-100 index, more than 75 stocks closed at the 7.5 percent upper limit. This includes index stocks with approx 40 percent weight where there was no seller at the current price. This signals more gain in the stock market tomorrow, especially at the opening, he added.
The Deputy Head of Research at JS Global Waqas Ghani told ProPakistani,
Pakistan Stock Exchange experienced a bullish trend at the start of the trading session today as investors appeared enthusiastic about the government’s agreement with the IMF regarding a US$ 3bn financial assistance plan. However, the heightened market activity led to a temporary suspension of trading for one hour. This suspension was triggered when the upper cap of 5% was reached for the KSE-30 index for 5 minutes, a regulatory measure implemented to curb excessive volatility and provide stability to the market.
Today’s surge comes in response to the SLA for $3 billion from the IMF last week.
In a final attempt to secure the stalled rescue package, the government introduced budget changes for the upcoming fiscal year, including a key interest rate hike to 22%.
The IMF deal, which comes after an eight-month delay, offers some relief to Pakistan, which has been grappling with a severe balance of payments crisis and declining foreign exchange reserves.
The $3 billion funding, spread over nine months, exceeds Pakistan’s expectations.
Top Volumes
| SCRIP | PRICE | HIGH | LOW | CHANGE | VOLUME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTL | 1.24 | 1.28 | 1.16 | 0.14 | 54,999,792 |
| KEL | 1.97 | 2.1 | 1.82 | 0.24 | 30,596,397 |
| CNERGY | 3.2 | 3.22 | 3.03 | 0.34 | 22,447,095 |
| TELE | 7.59 | 7.6 | 7.05 | 0.99 | 12,048,807 |
| FFL | 6.38 | 6.54 | 6.05 | 0.64 | 11,555,095 |
| PIBTL | 4.23 | 4.35 | 4.09 | 0.11 | 10,388,000 |
| HASCOL | 5.98 | 6.13 | 5.85 | 0.45 | 10,241,000 |
According to Capital Stake, overall market volumes appreciated from 233.92 million shares in the last session to 381.13 million shares. Worldcall Telecom (WTL +13.76%), K-Electric Limited (KEL +14.54%), and Cynergyico PK Limited (CNERGY +12.68%) led the volume chart. The scrips had 54.80 million shares, 30.60 million shares, and 22.45 million shares traded, respectively.
Sectors driving the benchmark KSE 100 index north included the Banking sector (542.91 points), Oil and Gas Exploration sector (305.42 points), and the Fertilizer sector (272.73 points).
Company-wise, Systems Limited (SYS 159.83 points), The Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC 142.22 points), and Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO 125.78 points) were top points contributors.
The Refinery sector (+8.99%) closed as the top gainer. National Refinery Limited (NRL 7.50%), Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL 7.50%), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL 7.52%), and Cynergyico PK Limited (CNERGY 11.97%) all closed in green.
