The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a robust rebound on Friday after experiencing a decline for much of the week. This resurgence was driven by an unexpectedly soft inflation reading for May, which bolstered investor confidence in an interest rate cut at the central bank’s upcoming meeting.
The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 75,878.48 points, marking a gain of 1,000.35 points or 1.34%. The index remained positive throughout the day, peaking at an intraday high of 75,953.74 points (+1,075.62) and hitting a low of 74,989.26 points (+111.14). The total trading volume for the KSE-100 index reached 243.53 million shares.
The State Bank of Pakistan is scheduled to announce its next monetary policy decision on June 10, 2024. Investors are anticipating a rate cut of at least 100 basis points, spurred by expectations that headline inflation will significantly decelerate to around 13-14% year-on-year for May 2024. This deceleration would push real interest rates above 8%.
Among the 100 index companies, 71 closed higher, 24 closed lower, and 5 remained unchanged. The KSE-100 index was buoyed by gains in Commercial Banks (+223.37 points), Technology & Communication (+200.32 points), Fertilizer (+196.96 points), Power Generation & Distribution (+128.7 points), and Cement (+63.03 points). Conversely, it was dragged down by losses in Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (-9.76 points), Automobile Parts & Accessories (-4.94 points), Tobacco (-3.74 points), Refinery (-2.39 points), and Sugar & Allied Industries (-1.67 points).
Notable contributors to the index’s rise included SYS (+171.65 points), HUBC (+113.64 points), MCB (+76.7 points), MEBL (+72.97 points), and ENGRO (+72.5 points). On the downside, PSO (-7.53 points), POL (-6.7 points), THALL (-4.94 points), NBP (-4.86 points), and INDU (-4.69 points) were the major laggards.
In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 48,828.32, registering a net gain of 493.68 points. The total market volume surged to 523.30 million shares, up from 410.58 million in the previous session, while the traded value increased to Rs20.57 billion, up by Rs5.65 billion.
A total of 246,456 trades were reported across 431 companies, with 234 stocks closing up, 140 down, and 57 remaining unchanged.
Top Ten Stocks by Volume:
- K-Electric (KEL) – 62,228,161 shares
- Dewan Cement Limited (DCL) – 31,643,087 shares
- WorldCall Telecom Limited (WTL) – 28,533,919 shares
- Dewan Farooque Motors Limited (DFML) – 25,205,573 shares
- Symphony Mobile (SYM) – 23,877,622 shares
- Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL) – 18,452,089 shares
- Faysal Bank Limited (FABL) – 16,760,025 shares
- Hum Network Limited (HUMNL) – 15,771,634 shares
- Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIAHCLA) – 13,870,627 shares
- Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL) – 13,206,236 shares
To note, the KSE-100 index has gained 34,426 points or 83.05% during the fiscal year, with a cumulative increase of 13,427 points or 21.5% for the ongoing calendar year.
