Stocks rally on PM Shehbaz's China visit hopes

• The day kicked off on a positive note. 
• Cement led initial rally on lower coal prices.
• Technology, energy ruled second half of trade.

KARACHI: Stocks rose sharply on Tuesday amid bets that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is on an official visit to China, would bring home some financial assistance or commitments from Beijing to shore up the shrinking foreign exchange reserves.

The KSE-100 index gained 544.03 points or 1.32% to close at 41,808.69 points.

Topline Securities said the day kicked off on a positive note at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) even though the consumer price Index inflation for October came at 26.6%, which is above market consensus. The market seems to have absorbed the PTI's long march which is crawling towards Islamabad.

“Cements led initial gains, fueled by easing international coal prices, where Lucky Cement, Maple Leaf Cement Factory, DG Khan Cement Factory, and PIOC closed higher,” the brokerage said.

However, the brokerage reported that in the second half investors were seen well into the technology sector where TRG Pakistan and NetSol Technologies hit their upper limit, further Avanceon Limited, and System Limited also closed higher. 

The oil and gas Exploration sector also contributed about 65 points.

Traded volume and value for the day stood at 190.53 million shares, up 95%, and Rs6.29 billion (up 1.5 times) respectively. WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 22.93 million shares.

Arif Habib Ltd (AHL) in a note said stocks rallied anticipating positive outcomes of the Prime Minister's visit to China, while bearish world coal markets gave the cement sector a leg up.

“The bulls made a comeback after continuous dry sessions, reaching an intraday high of 568 points and giving investors much-needed confidence,” the AHL report said.

It added that mainboard volumes improved dramatically yet 3rd tier stocks continued to lead the volume board.

Sectors that mainly strengthened the index included technology and communication (+131.2 points), power generation and distribution (+41.8 points), cement (+83.7 points), exploration and production (+64.7 points), and fertiliser (+42.6 points).

Major support came from WorldCall Telecom, Cnergyico PK Limited, TRG Pakistan, Pakistan Refinery Ltd, and G3 Technologies Limited.