Bulls toss stocks to all-time high

Published July 22, 2014
.— File photo
.— File photo

KARACHI: Stocks maintained the rising momentum on the first trading session of the week with the KSE-100 index up by 188.34 points to a new all-time high at 30,413.23.

Foreign investors’ interest in Pakistan equities, fueled by last week’s upgrade by Moody’s, saw an inflow of $5.59 million on Monday with major investment of $1.7m in oil and gas sector; $1.5m in cements and $1m in banks. Mutual funds, for a change, took fresh positions of $5.78m on Monday.

KSE-100 index crosses 30,000 level

The heavyweight Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) posted good gains of R5.01, which alone accounted for addition of around 85 points to the index.

Askari Bank hitting its ‘upper circuit’ was the most prominent gainer in the banking sector as the bank reported half year earnings per share at Rs1.7 versus a loss last year and paid out an interim cash dividend at Re1 per share.

Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp commented that stocks rose after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) hinted at improving economic fundamentals in the monetary policy statement on Saturday.

The rally was led by selected stocks across the board. Renewed foreign interest in oil stocks, speculations ahead of major earning announcements due this week played a catalyst role in bullish sentiments at KSE.

Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) gas discovery and venture plans for power production, rising cement exports and higher international oil prices positively impacted the sentiments.

Analyst Ovais Ahsan said that the SBP’s decision to keep the policy rate unchanged gave the bulls a strong reason to keep marching forward.

The cement sector gained, led by Lafarge Cement up 3.2 per cent on rumors that a bidder will raise its acquisition bid to above Rs21 per share for the company.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2014

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Threat perception
Updated 07 Dec, 2024

Threat perception

Despite clear proof of the threat posed by malign armed actors, the military and civilian leadership prefers to focus on political opponents.
Humanity at risk
07 Dec, 2024

Humanity at risk

HUMAN trafficking continues to remain an area where the state has utterly failed its citizens. While global...
Banks and larger goals
07 Dec, 2024

Banks and larger goals

THAT banks in Pakistan “prioritise profit over purpose” and promote financial products with limited knowledge of...
Gaza genocide
Updated 06 Dec, 2024

Gaza genocide

Unless Western states cease their unflinching support to Israel, the genocide is unlikely to end.
Agri tax changes
06 Dec, 2024

Agri tax changes

IT is quite surprising if not disconcerting to see the PPP government in Sindh dragging its feet on the changes to...
AJK unrest
06 Dec, 2024

AJK unrest

THERE is trouble brewing in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where a coalition comprising various civil society organisations...