KARACHI - Led by blue chip scrips, stocks Friday closed sharply higher amid recovering global equities and record surge in WTI crude oil prices. The KSE 100-index posted a gain of 486.18 points or 1.4% to close at 34,447.47 points, with 282m shares volume worth Rs15b.
Oil sector led the rally due to the biggest recovery in international oil price since 2009 as POL, PSO, OGDC and PPL went up by 5%, 3%, 4.7% and 5% respectively. Cement sector remained strong on the back of improved gross margins due to low coal price and MLCF, PIOC and DGKC went up by 4.8%, 4.9% and 4.7% respectively. Fertilizer sector remained in the green zone after the news that fertilizer consumption had gone up by 18% YoY in first three months of current summer crop season. Mixed sentiment was recorded in the banking sector, observed analyst Arhum Ghous.
Speculations ahead of CPI inflation data release for Aug’15, upbeat fertilizers consumption data release by NFDC for Apr-Jun’15 and stable economic outlook played a catalyst role in bullish close, stated analyst Ahsan Mehanti.
Dewan Cement was the volume leader in the session with 30m shares; followed by Pak Elektron with 21m shares and BOP with 19m shares was in spotlight.
JS Global, in its weekly report, observed meltdown in global equities and currencies on concerns over slowing global economy and further devaluation of Chinese currency sparked a firestorm at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) as well, as the benchmark KSE 100-index shed 4.1% during the first trading session of the week. However, the index recovered 2.7% during the last two trading sessions, led by value buying, particularly in oil stocks as oil prices jumped by over 10% on Thursday, marking its biggest 1-day gain since 2009.
Better-than-expected results and dividend announcements for the quarter ended Jun-2015 and relatively calmer political situation also helped in raising investors’ confidence. As a result, the KSE-100 index closed the week down 0.2% WoW. Average trading volumes edged up by 5% WoW to 301m shares, while foreigners remained net sellers worth $41m.