Wednesday, April 24 2024

Stocks turn in depressed performance
After scaling an all-time high overnight, the benchmark KSE 100 index faltered despite a positive start on Tuesday amid reports of oil refining units shutting down and Shanghai Electric Power’s withdrawal of an offer to buy K-Electric. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation attributed the depressed market performance to the expectations of prudent SBP monetary policy announce­ment next week ahead of new IMF loan talks and strong opposition to the petroleum price deregulation model by the refineries which have started closing down their units amid storage constraints and weak sales due to rampant smuggling. He said there was uncertainty over Pakis­tan-US relations following the signing of trade pacts with Iran to increase bilateral annual trade volume to $10 billion over the next five years, dampening investor sentiments. Topline Securities Ltd said equities began the day on a positive note, with across-the-board buying in cyclical stocks, especially in the cement sector, in the backdrop of the current surplus of $619m and anticipation of inflation clocking in at 17-18pc for April.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

ARL cuts output to 33% as smuggling bites
Attock Refinery Limited (ARL) has become the first victim of smuggled petroleum products as the refinery on Monday shut down its main distillation unit, reducing its capacity to only 33%, owing to the piling up of unsold diesel stocks. Oil industry sources warned that other refineries were also likely to close their units if the unbridled smuggling of petroleum products was not stopped. Oil smuggling into Pakistan has continued unabated and this oil is now available across the country. Industry officials said that smuggling and proposals of price deregulation without consultation with all stakeholders may put plant upgrade plans of refineries in jeopardy. For upgrading, they were expected to bring investments of $5-6 billion on the back of recent approval of a new policy.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx refinery stock-exchanges
Related symbols: atrl (news stock)

Fauji, Fatima raise urea prices
The increa­se in the rates of urea compost products by a couple of companies running their plants on subsidised gas has raised many eyebrows. Fatima Fertiliser Company Ltd (FFCL) on Tuesday raised the price of its brand Sarsabz urea by Rs551 per bag, taking the maximum retail price to Rs4,400. On April 9, Fauji Fertiliser Company Ltd (FFC) increased its urea prices by Rs633 per bag to Rs4,400. This increase of around 17 per cent has been made even though the gas input cost has remained unchanged. FFC and FFCL are still receiving gas from the Mari network at a subsidised price of Rs580 per mmBtu compared to other manufacturers on the SSGC and SNGPL networks, which faced a tariff hike to Rs1,597 per mmBtu in February. As a result, price discrimination for the same homogeneous product (gas) has been created in the fertiliser industry.
Related news categories: business chemical economic-indicators fertilizers psx stock-exchanges
Related symbols: fatima (news stock) ffc (news stock)

Tuesday, April 23 2024

PSX partners with London Stock Exchange Group
In a landmark development, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has signed a collaborative understanding with LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) on Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG). Under this mutual understanding, both companies will work to develop a suite of standardised ESG data tools for PSX-listed companies to report their ESG data, according to a PSX press statement. This understanding benefits PSX and listed companies by providing ESG scoring and enhancing the visibility of Pakistani companies on international ESG radars. Additionally, it lays the groundwork for an ESG Index planned by PSX in the future, aligning with PSX’s vision on ESG and marking a significant step in the Exchange’s ESG journey. Through this collaboration, PSX will encourage listed companies to adopt ESG reporting in line with global standards. Furthermore, it supports the ESG Taskforce established by PSX to bolster the adoption of ESG standards. PSX also plans to hold training sessions with LSEG to raise awareness and build capacity for listed companies on ESG reporting.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

Robust corporate results send PSX to record
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday rose to a fresh record high during the corporate earnings announcement season, fueled by robust financial results and anticipation ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) monetary policy announcement on April 29. In the morning, trading commenced at the intra-day low of 70,882.44 points, but soon the KSE-100 index recovered and moved upwards. The positive momentum was attributed to the government’s discussions about the privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), rupee stability amid foreign fund inflows and upcoming talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new loan package. Consequently, the market crossed the 71,000-point barrier and reached its intra-day high of 71,861.18. Notably, oil and gas exploration, banking, fertiliser and cement sectors drove the index upwards. It closed the day near its peak with substantial gains. “Stocks closed bullish in an earnings season rally amid strong financial results and speculation ahead of the SBP policy announcement on April 29,” said Ahsan Mehanti, MD of Arif Habib Corp.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges