Courtesy: Business Recorder, 14 April 2025
RECORDER REVIEW
KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained volatile during the week ending April 11, 2025, amid heightened global uncertainty triggered by tariff announcements from the U.S. President.
The benchmark KSE-100 index dropped 3,938 points, or 3.3 percent, on a week-on-week basis, closing at 114,853 points down from 118,791 points in the previous week. Despite the market downturn, trading activity picked up, with average daily volumes on the ready counter increasing by 14.2 percent to 557.37 million shares, compared to 488.19 million shares a week earlier. The average daily traded value on the ready counter also rose by 8 percent, reaching Rs 34.37 billion, up from Rs 31.85 billion in the prior week. However, total market capitalization declined by Rs 361 billion, settling at Rs 14.115 trillion by the end of the week.
BRIndex100 lost 523 points during the last week to close at 12,294.28 points down from 12,817.31 points with average daily turnover of 488.72 million shares. BRIndex30 also declined by 1,473.23 points on week-on-week basis to settle at 37,369 points with average daily trading volumes of 354.20 million shares.
According to AHL Research the market opened under pressure on Monday, with the KSE-100 dropping 8,688 points or 7.3 percent during the intraday (historic single-day decline), mirroring global market trends.
The global sell-off was driven by concerns over imposition of reciprocal tariffs on 60 countries last week, with China facing the highest hike.
However, President Trump’s decision to pause tariffs above 10 percent for 90 days toward latter half of the week provided some relief on the following day. End of the week, the market closed at 114,853 points, down 3.3 WoW.
Locally, optimism grew as Pakistan hosted a mineral mining conference this week, attracting foreign investors from countries such as US, UK, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. Adding to the sentiment, National Resources Ltd (Lucky Cement, Fatima Fertilizer, and Liberty Mills hold a 33 percent stake each) announced copper, gold, and silver discovery in Chagai, Balochistan.
Besides this, MARI also gained attention amid substantial 4th discovery at Spinwam well, reporting 70mmcfd gas and 310 bpd condensate.
Sector-wise negative contributions came from banks (1,399pts), fertilizer (875pts), E&P (619pts), technology (261pts), and power (204pts). Meanwhile, the sectors that contributed positively were Cements (293pts), pharmaceuticals (60pts), glass (50pts), automobile assembler (35pts), and cable & electrical goods (33pts).
Scrip-wise negative contributors were UBL (666pts), EFERT (466pts), FFC (409pts), PPL (358pts), and OGDC (310pts). Whereas, scrip-wise positive contributions came from LUCK (293pts), MARI (137pts), GLAXO (62pts), and SAZEW (39pts).
Foreigner selling was witnessed during this week clocked in at $9.9 million compared to a net buy of $ 7.4 million last week. Major selling was witnessed in banks $ 6.2 million followed by all other sectors $ 2.3 million. On the local front, selling was reported by Mutual Funds $13.6 million and Individuals $4.5 million, the AHL Research Reported.
Analysts at JS Global said that the week opened with a sharp sell-off driven by fears of a global trade war, triggered by tariff announcements by the US President.
However, news of a 90-day pause in tariff implementation provided some relief to investors on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Pakistan hosted the Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum, aimed at highlighting the country’s mineral potential, with participation from major international partners. On the economic front, Ministry of Commerce estimated a potential loss of approximately $1 billion due to the 29 percent tariff imposed under Trump’s policy.
Additionally, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) revised Pakistan’s GDP growth forecast down to 2.5 percent for FY25. On the other hand, exports of services grew by 6 percent YoY to $5.46 billion in 8MFY25. Petroleum sales in Mar-2025 rose 5 percent YoY, driven by Eid-related demand and lower fuel prices.
Conversely, cement dispatches declined by 9.5 percent YoY in March, led by an 11 percent drop in local dispatches. Auto sales surged by 18 percent YoY for Mar-2025, reflecting a growth of 46 percent in 9MFY25. SBP reserves remained stable for the week at $10.7 billion.
