KARACHI – Investors were energised by rumors of a discovery at Tulang well, which would mainly benefit POL and PPL, pushing the benchmark index beyond the 12,000 level as intense buying activity, volumes however failed to match the pace.
The KSE-100 crossed the 12,000 level, last witnessed on July 3, 2008, to close at 12031.46 with the gain of 145.44 points. Total volumes stood at 114,708,415 along with the total value 6,909,202,192.
Induction of the new board of directors at KSE revived hopes for early introduction of leverage product which bodes well for market depth and volumes. A total of 140 million shares were traded today, up 40 million shares from yesterday.
Activity in oil and gas sector was led by NRL, while the rest of the bellwether sector stock outperformed the KSE-100. Gains in the banking sector were led by HBL while NBP and MCB mimicked the benchmark index. Buoyancy in the fertiliser sector also returned with FFC leading the way.
The successful election of directors at KSE investor’s interest market ably absorbed all negative news.
The benchmark index might witness new peaks in the upcoming year albeit with minor hiccups as the global recovery drive commodity prices upwards whilst the resilience of the local corporate sector indicates that growth will continue despite economic problems.
Various media reports indicating mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector, capped up by the interest shown by Chinese interest in acquiring a local bank, and anticipation of stock and cash dividend issuance by leading banking scrips, despite fears of lower than expected earnings in the last quarter results, were duly endorsed by the lead participants in the industry and kept the banking stocks moving forward.
Apprehensions of a rise in offshore activity and the likelihood of early introduction of long demanded ready board leverage product kept sellers on the back foot.
However stock and sector swapping did keep certain stocks out of both the frontline and mid-tier segments under pressure, while high dividend yielders kept interest alive.
The degree of stability and depth will only be truly gauged after the release of sensitive properties of new products, while volumetric activity by local and off-shore participants will continue to provide trading opportunities to marketmen, Hasnain Asghar Ali anticipated.
