KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged for the second week in a row and the benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 852.75 points (+1.89 percent) on a week-on-week basis on the back of massive foreign inflows.
The KSE-100 Index surged by 861 points (+1.95 percent) in the preceding week. Overall, the index gained 1,713.75 points during the last couple of weeks.
The resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme along with support from friendly countries continued to garner investor interest. The investor optimism remained strong following an agreement with the IMF. The IMF’s first tranche alongside deposits of $2 billion and $1 billion made by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, respectively, were the key positive triggers for the bourse.
The PSX remained in a consolidation mood at the start of the week and fell prey to profit-taking activity, with the KSE-100 Index losing 25.37 points (-0.06 percent) in a range-bound session on Monday and shedding 33.28 points (-0.07 percent) on Tuesday. However, the index managed to close above the 45,000 points level during these sessions. The investors preferred to cash in gains, following the rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar.
The PSX witnessed a volatile session on Wednesday amid the continuous rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar , with the KSE-100 Index gaining 85.78 points (+0.19 percent).
However, things changed in the last two sessions of the week, wherein the market remained bullish. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict on super tax was taken positively by the market wherein the court ruled to exclude certain incomes while calculating the income taxable to super tax, including income covered under final tax and adjustment of carry-forward business losses. “Super tax is held to be against the scheme of the Constitution and should either be read down or declared ultra vires,” the order reads. The KSE-100 Index gained 303.20 points (+0.67 percent) on Thursday and 522.42 points (+1.15 percent) on Friday to close the week at 45,920.73 points.
During the intraday trading on Friday, the benchmark index soared to a 15-month high and twice breached the 46,000 points mark. The investors flocked to risk-on assets as they sought to capitalise on the potential gains. The bulls successfully managed to defend the key 45,000 points level ever since breaching this level, without a single daily close below this key level.
Arif Habib Corporation Director Ahsan Mehanti said that foreign capital bought shares in the energy sector. He attributed the rally in the stock market to “good financial results,” the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) ruling which declared the imposition of super tax on various companies against the law and terminated all notices in this regard as well as reports of keeping the policy rate the same. Due to all these factors, the index has crossed the 46,000 mark after a gap of 15 months, he said.
The analysts project a positive outlook for the market during the upcoming week. They said that with the result season kicking off, specific sectors and scrips are expected to garner significant attention, keeping the market sentiment upbeat. Additionally, the government’s pursuit of new financing opportunities from bilateral and multilateral sources is seen as a potential booster for the market.
As of now, the KSE-100 Index is trading at a price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 3.7x (2024), compared to its 5-year average of 5.9x, offering an attractive dividend yield of approximately 10.7 percent compared to its 5-year average of ~6.6 percent.
