Friday, 15 November 2024

PSX benchmark index closes at record high

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its bullish momentum throughout the week ended on November 15, 2024, with the benchmark index closing at a record high 94,763 points, marking a 1.6%WoW increase, achieving its highest-ever closing.

The bullish momentum continues on the back of accelerated pace of monetary easing by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and IMF’s visit with a focus on structural reforms.

During the visit, the IMF mission held discussions with local authorities, focusing on the external financing gap and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) revenue collections. FBR officials assured the IMF that the revenue target would remain unchanged, attributing the shortfall in revenue collection during the first four months of FY25 to inaccurate economic assumptions, particularly regarding GDP growth, imports, and inflation.

Both the sides discussed short-term as well as long-term measures to address the potential revenue shortfall, including raising taxes on sugary drinks and the import of machinery and raw materials.

In the latest T-Bills auctions, the SBP raised PKR776 billion, with bulk of the participation confined to 3-month tenor. The yield on the 3-month bill decreased by 20bps, while the yield on the 12-month bill increased by 10bps.

Auto sector sales for October 2024 was reported at 15,192 units, up 31%YoY.

Foreign exchange reserves held by SBP increased by US$84 million WoW, ending the week at US$11.2 billion as of November 08, 2024.

Average daily traded volume rose by 19.6%WoW to 878.5 million shares, from 734.6 million shares traded a week ago.

PKR largely remained stable against the greenback throughout the week.

Other major news flow during the week included: 1) Gop awaits IMF stance on mini-budget, 2) Solarization plunging power demand upsets IMF, 3) APM Terminals commits to invest in Pakistan, 4) Finance Minister invites Turkish firms for JVs and 5) Russia expresses interest in working with Pakistan on North-South Trade Corridor (NSTC).

Transport, Woollen, Pharmaceuticals, Vanaspati & Allied industries and Glass & Ceramics were amongst the top performing sectors, while Jute, Mutual Funds, Automobile Assembler, Fertilizer & Engineering were the laggards.

Major net selling was recorded by Companies with a net sell of US$11.0 million, while Mutual Funds absorbed most of the selling with a net buy of US$13.9 million.

Top performing scrips of the week were: Searl, EFUG, BNWN, TRG, and ABOT, while laggards included: FCEPL, THALL, MLCF, MUGHAL, and KOSM.

Continuation of monetary easing and improving macroeconomic environment would make investment in equities more appealing, currently trading at P/E of 4.2x and DY of 10.8%.

Aforementioned factors, along with declining external financing requirement under the IMF program, would keep foreigners’ interest alive. We recommend sectors that benefit from monetary easing and structural reforms.

However, modest economic recovery may limit the upside for cyclicals. Top picks of AKD Securities include, OGDC, PPL, MCB, MEBL, FFC, PSO, LUCK, MLCF, FCCL and INDU.

 

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