Business

Bulls stage comeback at PSX on Miftah’s cues

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

At close, KSE-100 index closes at 42,525.95 points.
The index traded between hope and despair on IMF programme.
Shares of 341 companies were traded during the session.

KARACHI: The bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday cheering the finance minister’s assurance the much-awaited International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme will be revived within two days.

Constant assurance from the top leadership that the stalled $6 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme will be revived this week strengthened investors’ sentiment as players cherry-picked stocks that lost valuation during the last bearish spell.

The benchmark KSE-100 index traded between hope and despair, which eventually let loose the bulls, who pulled the bourse into the green.

Investors kept a close watch on economic news after the Pakistan rupee continued to break records by dropping to an all-time low of 211.48 against the US dollar in the interbank market.

The KSE-100 index gained since the morning bell rang, but some dips were seen at regular intervals. The uptrend turned steeper at midday as the index once again breached the 42,000-point mark.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 42,525.95 points after surging 748.97 points or 1.79%.

Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal

A report from Arif Habib Limited noted that the bulls triumphed in the trading session at PSX today. “The benchmark KSE-100 index remained in the green zone throughout the day as value buying was witnessed across the board,” the brokerage house noted.

“The investors gained confidence in expectation of resumption of the IMF programme. Volumes remained healthy in the main board,” it stated.

Sectors contributing to the performance included technology (+136.6 points), exploration and production (+95.2 points), cement (+85.9 points), banks (+76.3 points) and fertiliser (+72.2 points).

Shares of 341 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 268 scrips closed in the green, 49 in the red, and 24 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes rose to 300.59 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 162.11 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.47 billion.

TPL Properties was the volume leader with 23.68 million shares traded, gaining Rs1.48 to close at Rs21.23. It was followed by Pakistan Refinery with 20.65 million shares traded, gaining Rs1.16 to close at Rs18.85 and Cnergy Limited with 17.86 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.35 to close at Rs5.66.

Business

There are US$13,280.5 million in foreign exchange reserves in Pakistan.

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

According to a representative for the central bank, as of April 19, 2024, the nation’s total liquid foreign reserves were valued at US$ 13,280.5 million. A loss of US$74 million left the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign reserves at US$7,981.2 million.

Commercial banks have $5,299.3 million in reserves for Pakistan.

In the week that concluded on April 12, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) foreign exchange reserves increased by $14.4 million to $8.055 billion.

“In a weekly statement, SBP stated that it has repaid US$ 1 billion in principal and interest on Pakistan’s International Bond, which matures this week.”

But at $13.374 billion, the nation’s total reserves decreased by $68 million. In the same way, commercial banks’ reserves dropped to $5.319 billion, a reduction of $82 million.

Business

NIMA seminar to increase Pakistan’s ship recycling industry’s capacity

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

According to a release, important players from a range of maritime industries attended the conference to discuss issues facing the shipping sector.

It further stated that the symposium cleared the path for the resurgence of a sustainable future in ship recycling.

Participants in the conference included representatives of the Gadani Ship Breaking Labour Union, PSBA, KS&EW, KPT, PMSA, GEMS, and the federal and Balochistani governments.

Furthermore, global perspectives and ideas were offered by international specialists such as Rabia Razzaque from UN-ILO and Professor Raphael Baumler from the World Maritime University.

The seminar emphasized Pakistan’s capacity to emerge as a pioneer in the field of environmentally friendly ship recycling.

In order to protect the environment and the safety of employees, the participants emphasized the importance of following international standards and regulations.

During his speech, Chief Guest Senator Nisar Ahmed Khoro emphasized the importance of the maritime industry’s resurgence and the crucial necessity for coordinated efforts from all parties involved.

A new age of economic prosperity, worker safety, and environmental responsibility for Pakistan’s maritime industry was called for as he urged the stakeholders to work together on a comprehensive SENSREC program.

Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed (Retd), the president of NIMA, emphasized the significance of environmental stewardship and safety in ship recycling procedures.

Business

Inflows into the Roshan Digital Account surged to $7.660 billion on March 24.

Published

15 hours ago

Farwa

According to the data, remittance inflows for the month of March totaled US$ 182 million, whereas they were US$ 141 million in February and US$ 142 million in January 2024.

Millions of Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRPs), including those who own Non-Resident Pakistan Origin Cards (POCs), can now engage in banking, payment, and investing activities in Pakistan with the help of these accounts, which offer cutting-edge banking solutions.

According to a statement from the State Bank of Pakistan, the number of accounts registered under the program increased by 11,091 from 668,701 accounts in February 2024 to 679,792 accounts in March 2024.

As of March 2024, the central bank reported that foreign nationals of Pakistan have invested US $312 million in Naya Pakistan Certificates, US $528 million in Naya Pakistan Islamic Certificates, and US $31 million in Roshan Equity Investment.

It is important to note that former prime minister Imran Khan introduced the Roshan Digital Account initiative in September 2020 with the goal of giving Pakistanis living abroad access to digital banking services for the first time.