Stocks eke out gains amid rate cut hopes

KARACHI: The stock market managed to end the topsy-turvy session in the green on Tuesday, aided by single-digit inflation, which strengthened expectations for a third straight cut in the interest rate in the Sept 12 meeting of the State Bank of Pakistan’s Monetary Policy Committee.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed higher amid upbeat data on Consumer Price Index-based inflation at 9.6pc for August and reports of the government plan for strategic sale of blue-chip state-owned ente­r­prises to foreign investors.
“Hopes for a cut in the SBP policy rate and resolution of external financing gaps this month also contributed to a positive close,” he added.
Topline Securities Ltd said the index experienced significant fluctuations, hitting an intraday high of 78,645 and a low of 78,251. However, it settled at 78,356.32 after gaining 73.02 points or 0.09pc day-on-day.
This upward movement was driven by substantial gains in key stocks such as Millat Tractor Ltd, Mari Petroleum, United Bank Ltd, Oil and Gas Devel­opment Company Ltd, and HabibMertro Bank, collectively contributing 96 points to the index.
However, the trading volume was down 4.50pc to 436.67 million shares. The traded value also tumbled 22.79pc to Rs12.25bn day-on-day.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Kohinoor Spinning Mills Ltd (83.94m shares), Symmetry Group (37.13m shares), Agha Steel Ind (21.56m shares), Yousaf Weaving Mills (19.79m shares) and Flying Cement (17.40m shares).
The shares registering the most significant incre­ases in their prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan (Rs139.17), Mari Petroleum (Rs66.56), Hall­mark Company (Rs44.69), Millat Tractors (Rs28.94) and Pakistan Services (Rs20.55).
The companies registering significant losses in their share prices in absolute terms were Unilever Foods (Rs163.50), Khyber Textile Mills (Rs67.38), Pak Engine­ering (Rs45.74), Colgate-Palmolive (Rs18.17) and Highnoon Lab (Rs17.21).
Foreign investors opted to stay out of the trading arena as their net purchases amounted to a negligible $0.000750m.
Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2024