- Trading remains on a tight leash as investors remain on the sidelines.
- Credit default swaps worsen to 75.5 as sentiment cools.
- Activity is likely to decrease in risk-averse environments.
KARACHI: Stocks on Wednesday clawed back early losses to print moderate gains, buoyed by fertilizer, tech and power in well-secured trades as the Tosha Khanna scandal set the political scene on fire. has given rise to instability concerns.
The benchmark KSE-100 shares index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange closed up 186.90 points or 0.44 percent at 42,983.75 points.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) said in a postmarket note that the PSX saw another range-bound session with unusual activity.
“Trade remained on a tight bandwagon throughout the day and the market swung in both directions due to lack of investor engagement,” the brokerage said.
AHL reported that mainboard volume declined significantly, while third-tier companies remained ahead in terms of volume.
The sectors that supported the index the most were Fertilizers (+134.3 points), Technology & Communication (+97.7 points), Investment Banks/Companies/Securities Firms (+24.0 points), Power Generation & Distribution (+21.3 points). ), and chemicals (+ 7.4 points).
Volume decreased 1.0% to 186.7 million shares from the 188.7 million shares recorded on Tuesday, while the average trade value decreased 10.3% to $29.96 million, compared to $33.40 million.
Unity Foods tops the volume chart. Stocks that contributed significantly to volume were Haskol Petrol, TRG Pakistan, Sui Southern Gas Company, and JS Bank Limited.
Topline Securities said in its market wrap that initially the index opened with a positive spread, but the Pakistan Credit Swap further rose to 75.5 per cent under selling pressure.
“The development weighed on market sentiment, sending the index down 68 points or 0.15% to an intraday low of 42,729.”
Topline analysts added that at the said level, buying interest kicked in which helped the market make an intraday high of 43,098, up 300 points or 0.70%.
Engro Corporation, TRG Pakistan, Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited, System Limited, and Hub Power Company added a total of 261 points.
Being the top laggards, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Habib Bank Limited together pulled 45 points from the benchmark index.
Due to uncertainty over the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) ninth review, Pakistan’s risk of defaulting on a 5-year credit default swap (CDS) rose to 75.5 percent.
Pakistan’s 5-year CDS rose to 7,550bps on November 15 from 5,620 basis points (bps) on November 14, an increase of 1,929.6bps, AHL data showed.