- Foreign sales continue this week.
- Positive contributions come from the last session of the week.
- The current account becomes in surplus, says the expert.
KARACHI: The stock market is expected to continue its upward trajectory amid attractive valuations, despite the turbulence of the past week, News reported.
The market ended the week on a good note on Friday.
“We expect the market to maintain its positive momentum in the coming week, supported by some scripts trading at attractive valuations, which are expected to continue to attract investor interest,” said a report by Arif Habib Limited Research.
“Additionally, with earnings season kicking off next week, some stocks are expected to come into focus driven by the expectation of strong financial results.”
Political unpredictability and rising crude oil prices were the main causes of market volatility throughout the week. The positive developments have, however, provided some support on the economic front.
The KSE-100 index rose 2,025 points (+1.8%) week-on-week to close at 115,272 points despite mixed signals. Average trade value was $115.8 million (up 1.1% on WoW), while average volumes reached 558 million shares (down 28.7% on WoW). ).
Unlike last week’s net sales of $5.7 million, foreign sales continued this week, reaching $8.7 million (4 days). Banks recorded the largest sales ($3.5 million), followed by other sectors ($2.6 million). Individuals ($12.8 million) and businesses ($8.5 million) reported making purchases locally.
Commercial banking (619 points), power generation (357 points), pharmaceuticals (320 points), cement (199 points) and technology and communication (195 points) are the sectors that made a contribution positive. While United Bank Limited (427 points), Hub Power Company (360 points), MARI (120 points), Searle Pakistan (100 points) and LUCK (97 points) were the positive contributors in terms of scripts.
The sector which contributed negatively is sugar (23 points). Negative contributions in terms of scripts come from Oil & Gas Development Company (64 points), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (53 points), Pakistan Aluminum Beverage Cans (31 points), Askari Bank Limited (30 points) and JDW Sugar Mills Limited (23 points). .
According to a research report from Topline Securities, this gain can be attributed to a recovery after the market fell about 3.7% last week as value investors came in to buy the dip. In addition, positive contributions came from the last stock market session of the week following the conviction of the former Prime Minister for corruption.
Analyst Abdul Basit of JS Research said during the week that the current account balance reached a surplus of $582 million for December 2024, taking the surplus for the first half of fiscal 2025 to 1.2 billion dollars, mainly due to increased remittances and a controlled trade deficit.
Additionally, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed the refinancing of $2 billion for another year, maturing in January 2025. Pakistan is also preparing to launch panda bonds with a target of initial offering of $200 million to $250 million, with the aim of further supporting external financing. .
The World Bank has committed to providing $40 billion to Pakistan over the next 10 years under the Country Partnership Framework (CPF).
In the recent GDP auction, the government raised Rs385 billion against a target of Rs350 billion, with yields falling by 19 to 61 basis points varying across different mandates.
Separately, the cabinet approved ongoing negotiations with 14 IPPs, which are expected to provide relief to power consumers of up to Rs 137 billion per year.
The large-scale manufacturing index showed a negative growth of 4.0% year-on-year in November 2024, while the LSM 5MFY25 index fell by 1.2% year-on-year. SBP reserves remained stable at $11.7 billion (up $30 million on WoW). Passenger car sales jumped by around 60% in December 2024.