Tuesday, January 21 2025

Political stability drives stocks higher
Bulls dominated proceedings at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as investors took encouragement from relative political stability and a marked improvement in macroeconomic indicators. Market players resorted to cherry-picking of stocks, helping the KSE-100 index to add over 550 points to its tally. Current account surplus, a significant increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) and expectations of a further policy rate reduction were among the triggers that drove the market higher. The index consistently fluctuated throughout the day and hit its intra-day low at 115,668.08 points in the very first hour of trading. It recovered very swiftly, reaching the day's peak at 116,276.42 after midday. "Stocks closed bullish in an earnings season rally amid upbeat data showing a $1.2 billion current account surplus and 20% surge in FDI to $1.33 billion for July-December 2024," said Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp.
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NTDC restructuring, sell-off plan reviewed
The Senate Standing Committee on Power, on Monday, examined the government's plan to divide National Transmission & Despatch Company (NTDC) into smaller units for enhanced efficiency and functionality. The Senate Standing Committee on Power, chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz, was convened at Parliament House. The meeting addressed a public petition filed by the General Secretary of the All Pakistan NTDC Engineering Association (APNEA) regarding the government's plans to wind up or trifurcate NTDC into smaller units. Explaining the restructuring plan, aimed at making NTDC more efficient, the Ministry of Power secretary explained that NTDC engineers will remain within the National Grid Company, overseeing internal operations, while project execution and energy infrastructure development will be managed by a separate government-approved company.
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Trump's crypto token tops $10b market cap
Donald Trump's newly created cryptocurrency soared on Monday to more than $10 billion in market value, drawing in billions in trading volume, while bitcoin's price hit a record-high hours ahead of the US president-elect's return to the White House. Launched on Friday, Trump's "meme coin", also known as $TRUMP, soared from less than $10 on Saturday morning to as high as $74.59 before giving up some of its huge rise on Monday. Trump launched the digital token with branding including an image from his attempted assassination in July, expanding his cryptocurrency interests that already include World Liberty Financial. Melania Trump also launched her own coin, $MELANIA, on Sunday that rallied in price to take its market cap well beyond $1 billion.
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Gold rebounds, rupee appreciates
After a decline in the previous trading session, gold prices rebounded on Monday, aligning with an uptick in international gold rates. According to the All-Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the price of gold per tola increased by Rs500, reaching Rs282,900. Similarly, the price for 10-gram gold rose by Rs429 to Rs242,541. This follows a Rs200 decrease per tola recorded on Saturday, when prices settled at Rs282,400. On the global front, gold prices also experienced an increase, with the international rate standing at $2,708 per ounce, reflecting a $5 gain during the day, according to APGJSA. Adnan Agar, Director of Interactive Commodities, highlighted recent developments shaping market sentiment. He stated that market reports, including one from The Wall Street Journal, suggest a possible shift in trade relations under Donald Trump's administration.
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Integrate Uraan into CPEC phase 2
To promote prosperity and eliminate abject poverty, economic nationalists urged the government to form think tank corridors and incorporate all 5Es of Uraan Pakistan in the second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The five-year national economic transformation plan titled Uraan Pakistan, was recently launched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It focuses on the 5Es; Exports, E-Pakistan, Environment & Climate Change, Energy & Infrastructure, and Equity & Employment. Experts said that the government has introduced Uraan, for the quick macroeconomic revival through different but integrated efforts. However, they fear that without introducing meaningful structural reforms in the economy, industry, productive channels, tax, energy, law and order situation, and political stability, it may not deliver the desired goals of achieving the targets set for exports, GDP, investments, and qualitative industrialisation.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators misc