Friday, October 18 2024

Stocks falter on political uncertainty
After scaling an all-time high a day earlier supported by a successful SCO summit, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday came under renewed selling pressure stemming from mounting political tensions in the backdrop of the proposed 26th constitutional amendment, pulling the KSE 100 index below 86,000 on aggressive foreign selling. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said stocks closed under pressure on political noise amid uncertainty over the outcome of judicial reforms and foreign outflows. He noted that government actions on IPP payment and tariff issues, weak global crude oil prices and delays in privatising state-owned enterprises negatively impacted investor sentiment.
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Thursday, October 17 2024

Stocks settle above 86,000 for first time
The stock market continued its record-breaking streak for the second straight session as investors picked shares in select sectors amid the peaceful holding of the Shanghai Coope­ration Organisation (SCO) summit on Wednesday, pushing the KSE 100 index to close the session above 86,000 for the first time. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation stated that stocks closed at a record high during the earnings season rally at PSX, as investors weighed easing political noise and speculations over economic commitments in the summit. He added that a slump in bond yields and the government deliberation on privatising state-owned enterprises also fuelled bullish activity. Topline Securities Ltd said the bull run was fuelled by investor optimism following the successful summit, which heightened regional political and economic stability expectations, strengthening market confidence. This positive sentiment and robust corporate earnings ignited a broad-based rally across multiple sectors.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges

Wednesday, October 16 2024

Stocks hit all-time high as focus turns to summit
Despite bea­­rish sentiment overnight, the stock market resumed its bullish trend on Tuesday as investors engaged in value-hunting, focusing on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) sum­mit, propelling the KSE 100 index to an all-time high, closing above 85,500. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said st­­o­cks closed bullish in the earnings season rally led by blue-chip scrips as inv­estors weigh strong earnings outlook and diploma­tic gains in the SCO summit. He said the easing political noise after PTI called off protests, rupee stability, and deliberations over CPEC Phase II played a catalyst role in a positive close. Topline Securities Ltd said the session witnessed a pullback in the fertiliser and exploration and production (E&P) sectors. How­­ever, investor enthusiasm remained high due to the ongoing SCO summit, with many anticipating new investment opportunities. Key contributors to the index included Mari Pet­roleum, Engro Fertiliser, Oil and Gas Development, Attock Refinery, and Fauji Fertiliser, which together added 425 points.
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PTCL quarterly loss surges to Rs15.3bn
Despite a 15.3 per cent growth in revenues, the Pakistan Telecom­m­unication Company Ltd (PTCL) on Tuesday announced net loss widened by 41pc to Rs15.3 billion in the third quarter of calendar year 2024 compared to Rs10.82bn in the same period of 2023. In a meeting, the board of directors reviewed the financial result and acknowledged PTCL Group’s revenue growth to Rs160.6bn during the July-September period. The meeting noted that the revenue growth was mainly driven by solid performance in the consumer segment led by fixed broadband, mobile data, and wholesale and business solutions. The company said PTCL’s aggressive deployment of Fiber-to-The-Home (FTTH) was the cornerstone of top-line growth.
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Related symbols: ptc (news stock)

SLGL, Maersk sign deal
Secure Log­is­­tics Group Ltd (SLGL) has entered into an agreement to provide transport services to Maersk West and Central Asia Ltd. In a stock filing on Tuesday, SLGL said this corporate on-boarding of SG as one of the transport service provider to Maersk aligns with SLG’s objectives to become a leading domestic logistic service provider. In addition, SLGL is also engaged in discussion with Maersk regarding a similar agreement under SLG’s TIR License, whereby the company would provide similar services to Maersk starting with the regional markets including the Central Asian countries, the Company said.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators psx stock-exchanges transport