KARACHI: Pakistani shares rallied on Wednesday, ending a three-day losing streak, despite ongoing uncertainty over the approval of a new IMF loan this month. The rally was fueled by the initiation of the privatisation process for three power companies, which drove the benchmark KSE 100 index above the 78,000 mark.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation attributed the recovery to a strong earnings outlook and notable advancements in privatisation efforts. Reports indicate that the Privatisation Commission has invited technical and financial proposals for appointing advisers for the sale of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company, Gujranwala Electric Power Company, and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company.
Additional factors contributing to the positive market movement included rising global crude oil prices, falling Karachi Interbank Offered Rates, and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s confirmation that the IMF board is expected to approve the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility next month. The market also gained clarity as Pakistan was not included on the IMF executive board’s agenda for the August 28 meeting.
During the session, the index showed significant volatility, reaching a high of 78,457 and a low of 77,969 points before settling at 78,260.86, marking an increase of 515.34 points or 0.66%.
The rally was supported by gains in the fertiliser and banking sectors, with major contributors including National Bank of Pakistan, Fauji Fertiliser, United Bank, Engro Fertiliser, and HabibMetro Bank, which together added 249 points to the index.
Trading volume surged by 45.13% to 552.56 million shares, and the traded value rose by 29.83% to Rs14.59 billion. Notable volume contributors included Kohinoor Spinning Mills Ltd (62.92 million shares), Power Cement (41.96 million shares), Yousuf Weaving (37.36 million shares), Pakistan Telecom (33.65 million shares), and WorldCall Telecom (20.90 million shares).
Stocks with the highest price increases included Unilever Pakistan Food (Rs219.46), Unilever Foods (Rs219.46), Al-Abbas Sugar (Rs32.55), Sazgar Engineering (Rs29.93), Atlas Battery (Rs18.67), and Ibrahim Fibres (Rs14.76). Conversely, stocks experiencing the largest price decreases were Hoechst Pak (Rs125.90), Ismail Industries (Rs61.50), Allawasaya Tex (Rs52.81), Khyber Textile (Rs36.84), and Nestle Pakistan (Rs27.11).
Foreign investors were net sellers, offloading shares worth $0.60 million.
