Tag: Stock Exchange

  • Pakistan stock market continues bullish run, nearing 55,000-point mark

    Pakistan stock market continues bullish run, nearing 55,000-point mark

    The Pakistani stock market is expected to surge past 55,000 points, continuing its bullish run at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The benchmark KSE-100 Index reached a new historic high of 54,261 points on Wednesday amidst record trading activity.

    Institutional buying drove the index past the 54,000 mark during intraday trading. Maintaining momentum throughout the day, the KSE-100 Index settled at 54,261.42 points, an increase of 525.69 points, or 0.98 per cent.

    Profit-taking erased some gains at the PSX on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index falling by 125 points to settle at 53,735.73 at the end of trading.

    However, buying resumed on Wednesday, particularly among index-heavy sectors such as automobile assemblers,cement, chemicals, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, and OMCs.

    Analysts attribute the bullish trend to expectations of a decline in the policy interest rate in the coming weeks.

    Experts believe that interest rates may come down sooner than expected due to the fall in global oil prices.

    Improved macroeconomic indicators, including a decline in the country’s current account deficit to $8 million in September 2023 (down from $360 million in the same month in 2022) and a drop in CPI-based inflation, have also contributed to the positive sentiment at the bourse.

  • PSX asks companies to explain significant changes in share prices

    PSX asks companies to explain significant changes in share prices

    The compliance department of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has contacted five listed companies seeking clarification on a “substantial” change in their share prices between March 16 and April 13. One of the companies contacted is Pakistan Services Ltd (PSEL), which owns and manages the chain of Pearl Continental hotels in Pakistan. PSEL has a free-float of 60 per cent, with the company’s sponsors controlling only 40 per cent of the shareholding while the rest is available to the public for trading.

    PSX Head of Listed Companies Compliance, Hafiz Maqsood Munshi, sent a letter to PSEL on April 20 stating that “The PSX has observed that the price in the shares of PSEL has decreased substantially during the period from March 16 and April 13”. According to the prevailing Securities Act, listed companies are required to promptly disclose any unusual movement in the price or volume of its traded securities to the general public. If the company observes any such matter or development, it must share the details with the public. Otherwise, the company should issue a statement of the fact that it’s not aware of any such matter or development.

    The share price of PSEL was Rs1,720.50 at the close of the March 15 session, dropping to Rs800.10 apiece by the end of the April 13 session, showing a decrease of 53.5 per cent in less than a month. The PSX has directed PSEL to provide, “at the earliest”, the reason or any material information that may have resulted in the substantial decrease in its price during the period under consideration.

    Capital market regulators across the world keep an eye on any sudden share price movements to protect small investors from fraud. Listed companies are required to share any new development that may have a material impact on its stock price with the public immediately. This regulatory requirement is aimed at preventing insider trading, which involves buying and selling of shares by someone with non-public but material information about the stock undergoing a sharp change in its price or trading volume.

    The PSX also contacted Tandlianwala Sugar Mills Ltd (TSML), a producer and seller of white crystalline sugar and ethanol with a free-float of only 5 per cent, to explain the substantial increase in its share price between March 16 and April 13. TSML had no trading on March 15 or 16, with a closing price of Rs67.03 apiece on March 17. Its share price rose 50.3 per cent to Rs100.79 a share by the end of April 13.

    According to Dawn, the PSX compliance department contacted Towellers Ltd, a manufacturer and exporter of textile make-ups, garments and towels, which saw its share price rise from Rs183 on March 15 to Rs291.16 on April 13, up 59.1 per cent in the period under review. The PSX asked Khairpur Sugar Mills Ltd, a seller of sugar and by-products with just 5 per cent of free-float, to explain why its share price rose from Rs46.22 on March 15 to Rs72 on April 13, reflecting an increase of 55.7 per cent in about a month.

    Lastly, the stock exchange sought an explanation for the substantial share price increase from Metropolitan Steel Corporation Ltd, which makes ribbed bars, wire rods, bailing hoops, wires, transmission towers and cold profiles. The steel maker’s share had no trading on March 15, with a closing rate of Rs22.19 on March 16. Its closing rate on April 12 was Rs35 apiece, which shows the increase in the stock rate was 57.7 per cent over the period under review. The shares of the company were not traded on April 13.

  • Bajwa’s resignation amid political uncertainty affects stock market

    Bajwa’s resignation amid political uncertainty affects stock market

    Pakistan’s stocks reversed gains on Monday as Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Special Assistant on Information (SAPM) Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa resigned ahead of protests planned by opposition parties, raising concerns of increased political uncertainty, foreign media reported.

    “Imran Khan approved my request to relinquish the additional post,” Asim Bajwa tweeted Monday.

    The resignation of Imran’s key spokesperson comes amid increasing challenges to his about two-year-old government as he struggles to contain inflation and revive the country’s economy. Meanwhile, an alliance of 11 opposition parties is planning on holding its first protest rally this week, which is the start of a series of such meetings aimed at ousting Imran Khan.

    The benchmark KSE-100 index closed down 1.4%, reversing earlier gains of as much as 0.6%. The stocks have advanced 48% since touching this year’s low on March 25. “The investors are being cautious and booking profits after recent events including Bajwa’s resignation and the opposition’s planned protest add to the uncertainty,” said Qasim Shah, head of international sales at JS Global Capital Ltd in Karachi.

    The premier had turned down Bajwa’s earlier request to resign.

  • Saudi Arabia’s energy company ‘Aramco’ worth’s $1.7 trillion after a historic IPO

    Saudi Arabia’s energy company ‘Aramco’ worth’s $1.7 trillion after a historic IPO

    Saudi Arabia has recently turned Aramco (Arabian-American Oil Company) in publicly owned enterprise. By making it a public entity – that investors can buy and sell shares in the stock market.

    Shaybah

    In the Initial Public Offering (IPO) phase, the worth of the company has plunged to $1.88 trillion that break all the records of the recent decades.

    The offering price of Armaco shares were 32 Riyals ($8.53) and people bought the shares of $25.6 billion – eclipsing Alibaba’s $25 billion IPO of 2014.

    Moreover, seconds after the debut on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange, the price per stock rose to 35.2 riyals. This development further boosted the energy giant’s valuation.

    Haradh Gas Plant (Aramco)

    On the launch ceremony, the Chairman of Aramco Yasir Al-Rumayyan said “Today the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is no longer the only shareholder of the company. More than five million shareholders have joined including citizens and residents, in addition to Gulf countries and international investment institutions. The kingdom is immensely proud of this day.”

    It was the strategy of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to overhaul the oil-reliant economy.

    The IPO process had put the energy giant’s value at $1.7 trillion, far ahead of other firms in the trillion-dollar club, including Apple and Microsoft.

    The listing of Aramco, with its huge capital value, boosts the Saudi bourse — known as Tadawul — to the ranks of the world’s top ten.

  • Stock market surge in reality after Danish buys shares in ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’, breaks Twitter

    The stock market in Pakistan has witnessed an increase by gaining 40,000 points after a gap of around 10 months, and netizens are thanking Danish from the popular TV serial ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho‘ for buying shares worth Rs7.8 million in the latest episode that aired Saturday.

    The TV serial took an unexpected turn after Danish purchased shares of Shahwar Chemicals — a company owned by his ex-wife Mehwish’s new lover Shahwar Ahmed — to further inflict damage to the company that is undergoing losses for the past few months.

    While Danish buying shares played a typical form of karma in the serial for his wife, people can’t help but laud the character for causing an actual stock market upsurge.

    Twitterati couldn’t help but notice how that moment in the serial coincided perfectly with a stock market rise in Pakistan in reality, and the microblogging website was soon flooded with memes.

    Actor Humayun Saeed, who plays Danish, is once again breaking the internet and here’s what social media users have to say about the coincidence:

    Many users are thanking danish for purchasing stocks from Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

    And some are trolling Mehwish — played by actor Ayeza Khan — for leaving Danish for being a middle-class government employee, for Shahwar.

    Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday crossed the 40,000 mark after a gap of around 10 months as the KSE-100 index closed at 40,122 points with a positive change of 836 points. A total of 361,655,400 shares were traded during the day, whereas the value of shares traded stood at Rs13.75 billion as compared to the previous day’s value of Rs11.9 billion.