Despite the visit of the Caretaker Prime Minister to the UN, no significant positive developments or outcomes were observed.
On the macroeconomic front, the federal government is intensifying its efforts to reduce spending following a recommendation from the World Bank, aiming to simultaneously increase revenues. The news flows indicated a possible reduction in the PSDP spending.
Inflation for this month is still expected to remain high, around 30%YoY. Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee continues to strengthen against the greenback, posting a weekly gain of 1.4% to close at PKR287.7/US$ by week-end.
Internationally, oil prices have resumed their upward trend, amid supply crunch, after a brief easing earlier in the week, with Brent crude currently hovering at US$95.6 per barrel.
Overall, average trading volumes improved by 45.6%WoW rose to 202 million shares as compared to 139 million shares traded in the earlier week.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index lost 189 points during the week, depicting a 0.4% decrease in the index.
Other major news flows during the week included: 1) profit repatriation surged by 74% in July-August, 2) Jul-Aug period borrowing from multiple financing sources rose to US$3.206 billion, 3) RDA inflows reported at US$6.6 billion for August, 4) CGS of KSA Armed Forces met President, and 5) Pakistan owed US$1.2 billion to Chinese power producers.
Transport, Tobacco, and Paper & Board were amongst the top performing sector. Vanaspati and allied industries, Technology and Textile were amongst the worst performing sector.
Major net selling was recorded by Banks with net selling of US$6.3 million. Individuals and companies absorbed most of the selling with a net buy of US$3.7 million and US$1.4 million, respectively.
Top performing scrips of the week were: EFUG, PGLC, CEPB, NRL, and PAKT, while top laggards were: POL, GADT, SYS, FFBL, and HBL.
Looking ahead, the market's performance is anticipated to be significantly influenced by the upcoming IMF review scheduled for November.
Regarding the political landscape, while the expected timeline for elections is given, providing exact dates for the elections would be a positive development.
Upcoming inflation readings and current account data would remain in the limelight. Overall, we continue to advise our investors to remain cautious while investing and consider companies with strong fundamentals and high dividend-yielding companies.
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