Bulls rebound at PSX as inflation hits a decade-low

By Syed Raza Hassan

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange rebounded on Tuesday after enduring four consecutive bearish sessions as the market rose 756.91 points or (0.68 per cent), closing at the level of 112,743.79.

The bulls made a strong comeback today, driving the benchmark index to an intraday high of 890 points and a low of 269 points.

Investor sentiment improved significantly, fuelled by positive economic data. On the news front, annual inflation continued its downward trajectory, reaching a nearly decade-low of 1.5 per cent year-on-year in February, Topline Securities noted.

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“We saw selling pressure in recent days, but buying interest emerged today. Positive momentum was further supported by key economic developments, including the IMF mission initiating talks for the first review of the $7 billion EFF.

Additionally, inflation data released yesterday showed a drop to a near-decade low of 1.5 per cent in February,” Sana Tawfiq, head of research at Arif Habib Limited told Hum Digital.

The market recovery was led by buying interest in key sectors, as investors capitalized on recent dips. UBL, MARI, FFC, SEARL, and HUBC were among the top contributors, collectively adding 400 points to the index.

Additionally, the pharmaceutical sector attracted strong investor interest, with SEARL, BFBIO, and CPHL closing higher than their previous day’s levels.

“Today recoveries in the market were expected as during last four session market witnessed a loss of 2500 points, talks with the IMF are on-going and according to reports coming in IMF wants government to tax real estate and broaden the tax net whereas Government of Pakistan wants some sort of relief in electricity prices and wants to announce some package for real estate,” Shaheryar Butt CEO at Darson Securities told Hum Digital.

Despite the positive momentum, overall market activity remained subdued, with 206 million shares traded and a total turnover of Rs 11.3 billion.

WTL led the volume charts, with 12.6 million shares changing hands.