KARACHI: The outgoing week remained eventful for the stock market because of the government-opposition tussle over the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly.

According to Arif Habib Ltd, the equities market has “largely digested” the evolving political situation in Islamabad which, coupled with a decline in international oil and coal prices, brought back the bulls. Moreover, concerns about inflation also seem to have ceded.

Although some political developments in the middle of the week added pressure to the bourse, the market closed at 45,152 points after adding 1,601 points or 3.7 per cent from a week ago.

The brokerage said the week-on-week increase in the benchmark index was the highest weekly return since July 31, 2020.

Sector-wise positive contributions came from cement (266 points), commercial banking (241 points), technology and communication (182 points), fertiliser (152 points) and power generation and distribution (111 points).

Sectors that contributed negatively to the index were leather and tanneries (nine points) and leasing companies (one point).

Scrip-wise positive contributors were Systems Ltd (129 points), Lucky Cement Ltd (129 points), Millat Tractors Ltd (69 points), The Hub Power Company Ltd (68 points) and Engro Corporation (57 points).

Meanwhile, scrip-wise negative contribution originated from Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (16 points), Service Industries Ltd (nine points) and Engro Fertilisers Ltd (six points).

Foreign selling continued in the outgoing week and amounted to $15.55m versus a net sell of $4.12m last week.

Major selling was witnessed in commercial banking ($13.7m) and fertiliser ($0.6m) sectors.

On the local front, buying was reported by banks ($15.7m) and individuals ($7.5m).

The average daily volume settled at 310m shares, up 116pc week-on-week. The average daily value remained $44m, up 72pc from a week ago.

According to AKD Securities, the stock market may react to political developments in the near term but the easing off in the prices of global commodities will provide it with episodes of gains.

“Ramazan might keep the market activity dry. However, the commencement of the result season could bring investors’ interest in specific stocks. We continue to advise investors for building long-term positions and limiting short-term trading,” it said.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2022