Stocks creep up in volatile trading

A volatile but positive session was witnessed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, as the KSE-100 index rose over 1,000 points in earlier trading, driven by strong macroeconomic signals.The market hit the intra-day high of 118,367.81, bolstered by the release of December 2024 Consumer Price Index (CPI), which came in at 4.1%, the lowest since April 2018. This signaled easing inflationary pressures and raised expectations for an imminent reduction. in policy rate by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). However, profit-taking in the latter part erased earlier gains as the index dipped to the intra-day low of 116,857.61, before closing nearly flat.Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti stated that stocks closed higher amid upbeat data of CPI inflation that slowed down to 4.1% year-on-year in December 2024.”Additional factors were prime minister’s affirmation of macroeconomic stability, along with focus on record revenue receipts, 10.52% surge in exports for July-December 2024, and projections of $35 billion in remittances for FY25,” he said.Expectations for a cut in the SBP policy rate and speculation about the earnings season played the role of catalysts in positive close at the PSX, he added.At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a thin gain of 111.57 points, or 0.10%, and settled at 117,119.66.Topline Securities wrote in its report that the market experienced a volatile trading session, with the index fluctuating between the intra-day high of 1,359 points and low of 150 points. Ultimately, it settled at 117,119, marking a modest gain of 111 points, it said. Investors appeared to capitalize on the heightened market activity, opting to book profits after recent gains. This led to mixed sentiment across sectors, with selective stocks facing selling pressure while others managing to sustain the upward momentum, Topline added.Arif Habib Limited (AHL) said that minor gains were observed for the KSE-100 index, which “now sits at the top of its recent range”.A total of 38 shares advanced, while 57 declined. The biggest contributors to the index gains were Engro Fertilisers (+5.92%), Engro Corporation (+6.02%), and Millat Tractors (+10%).On the other hand, Oil and Gas Development Company (-2.34%), Pakistan Petroleum (-2.41%) and Mari Petroleum (-1.84%), were the biggest index drags, it said.Among key industries, petroleum sales of oil marketing companies came in at 1.28 million tons during December 2024, up 3% year-on-year (YoY). The growth was attributable to a jump in diesel sales by 12%.The Fertilizer sector saw a significant 58% YoY surge in urea sales in December, totaling 991,000 tons – the highest since June 2020, AHL added. JS Global analyst Muhammad Hasan Ather noted that stocks experienced a notable surge during the day with the benchmark index rising 1,359 points and reaching 118,367. The rally was driven by improved macros, particularly the decrease in inflation to 4.1%, he said. “This positive development raises hopes for a policy rate cut.”Overall trading volumes increased to 1.04 billion shares against Wednesday’s tally of 956.3 million.Shares of 464 companies were traded. Of these, 193 stocks closed higher, 225 fell and 46 remained unchanged.Fauji Foods was the volume leader with trading in 89.5 million shares, gaining Rs0.95 to close at Rs19.24. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 72 million shares, gaining Rs0.03 to close at Rs1.79 and Telecard Limited with 61.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.74 to close at Rs10.52.