The benchmark index of Pakistan Stock Exchange showed signs of weakness earlier in the week since Pakistan was not included in the IMF’s executive board meeting agenda, which led to a weekly loss of 0.4%WoW, closing at 78,488 points.
The Government of Pakistan (GoP) has requested Saudi Arabia to increase it’s lending by US$1.5 billion from existing US$5 billion and are also seeking US$4 billion from Middle East based commercial banks to seize the external financing gap.
The global rating agency Moody’s upgraded Pakistan’s debt ratings to Caa2 from Caa3 which instilled positivity among investors.
Market participation remained elevated, with the average daily traded volume rising to 602.12 million shares from 468.06 million shares a week ago, up 28.6%WoW.
According to news flows FBR is likely to miss August 2024 collection target by PKR50 billion.
Foreign exchange reserves held by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) rose by US$112 million on a weekly basis to US$9.4 billion as of August 23, 2024.
During the week secondary market yields saw a marginal increase, which brought the 3-month yield to 18.05% and 1-year to 16.95%.
Furthermore, PKR largely remained stable against the greenback throughout the week, closing the week at PKR278.54/US$.
Other major news flows during the week included: 1) Punjab extended PKR14/unit power relief to federal capital, 2) finance minister announced incentives to attract foreign direct investment, 3) CPEC debt re-profiling plan amounting to US$8 billion prepared, 4) ECC approved two remittance incentive schemes and 5) Foreign investors repatriate US$139 million in July 2024.
Jute, Transport, Exchange Traded Funds, Food & Personal care products and Textile Weaving were amongst the top performing sectors, while Textile spinning, Leather & Tanneries, Vanaspati & Allied Products, Real Estate Investment Trust and Paper & Board were amongst the worst performers.
Major net selling was recorded by Banks/DFI with a net sell of US$3.85 million. Individuals absorbed most of the selling with a net buy of US$5.84 million.
Top performing scrips of the week were: NBP, COLG, GLAXO, MTL, and MARI, while top laggards included: ABOT, AVN, SRVI, SML, and PSX.
Looking ahead, market is expected to continue its positive momentum with anticipated August 2024 lower inflation reading, upcoming MPC result and any development on the IMF deal remaining in focus.
Analysts opine that sectors benefiting from monetary easing and structural reforms would remain in the limelight. With declining fixed income yields, high dividend-yielding stocks are expected to remain favorable.
