The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark index KSE-100 has, for the first time since May 2017, surged above 51,000 as the buying frenzy intensified during the early hours of trade today as investors continued to bank on more cash entering the stock market.
After opening trade at 50,731.86 points, the benchmark KSE-100 index went up by 490 points to 51,221.51 points after witnessing a 1 percent jump. The top bourse retained the level in support from last week’s bulls which saw the index attain the 50,000 level for the first time since June 2017.
CEO of Alpha Beta Core Securities, Khurram Schehzad told ProPakistani, “KSE-100 crossed 51,000 points mark today, after May 2017. However, market value, which matters the most to investors, is still below more than 70% versus the value it achieved back then. For instance, the market value (market capitalization) of the Pakistan Stock Exchange is still below $30bn today (~$26bn) versus around $100bn back then”.
“So, to achieve $100 billion in value, the index should cross 100,000 levels, which would be the real performance of equities versus 2017. It’s the value that matters to investors, not just the index. The index is more an indicator of the direction, which of course means investors are expecting some positive changes ahead,” he added.
According to a brief market review by Arif Habib Limited, the immediate continuation of the current bullish run is targeting the 50,817-50,977 area, with support placed at 50,200. A break above 50,977 would eye 51,073-51,197 points. Immediate support stands in between 50,645-50,484 while relapse under 50,484 would instill weakness towards 50,339-50,204 points.
However, going forward, it is expected that the market will remain volatile due to an overbought state.
At 10:20 AM, the market was at the 52,292 level, up by 460 points.
The top contributors to the volume chart were Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited. The scrips had 6.7 million shares, 5.6 million shares, and 4.9 million shares traded, respectively.
Top Volumes
| SCRIP | PRICE | HIGH | LOW | CHANGE | VOLUME |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPL | 84.6 | 85.25 | 82.81 | 2.04 | 6,760,159 |
| OGDC | 99.35 | 99.88 | 97.7 | 2.26 | 5,667,542 |
| SNGP | 54.5 | 55.01 | 53.05 | 2.75 | 4,916,347 |
| AIRLINK | 35.54 | 35.55 | 34.05 | 2.47 | 4,268,966 |
| SSGC | 11.15 | 11.25 | 10.81 | 0.41 | 4,170,109 |
| PRL | 18.08 | 18.45 | 18.0 | -0.05 | 3,636,951 |
| WTL | 1.29 | 1.3 | 1.28 | 0.01 | 3,412,262 |
This is an intraday market update.
