KARACHI: Share prices went up at the beginning of the outgoing week as the country expected to get financing from China ($9 billion) and Saudi Arabia ($4bn).
Arif Habib Ltd said the momentum carried on throughout the week on the news that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was expected to visit Pakistan on Nov 21 and that his visit would coincide with various investment projects. The rupee was slightly down against the greenback as it closed at 221.95, down 0.1 per cent week-on-week.
In addition, foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) went down to $7.9bn, down by $956 million from a week ago.
As a result, the index closed at 43,093 points after gaining 1,237 points or 2.95pc on a week-on-week basis.
Sector-wise, positive contributions came from commercial banking (368 points), oil and gas exploration (285 points), technology and communication (205 points), cement (80 points) and power generation and distribution (76 points). Whereas, sectors that contributed negatively were miscellaneous (87 points), automobile parts and accessories (three points) and food and personal care products (two points).
Scrip-wise, positive contributors were TRG Pakistan Ltd (176 points), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (130 points), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (119 points), Meezan Bank Ltd (106 points) and Bank Alfalah Ltd (56 points).
Meanwhile, negative contributions were from Pakistan Services Ltd (81 points), Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (29 points), Shifa International Hospitals Ltd (six points), Standard Chartered Pakistan Bank Ltd (three points) and Interloop Ltd (three points).
According to AKD Securities, the political situation may start heating up further as the country’s largest political party is starting its long march once again. “We advise the investors to maintain trading positions only and refrain from building and holding long-term positions,” it said.
Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2022
