Karachi, June 23, 2021 (PPI-OT): View from the desk

Bulls and bear went head on today, with the former taking charge in the first half. However, Bears made a comeback pulling the KSE100 down as the index closed at a level of 47,901 (-86 points). Major contributors to the total volume of 619mn shares were SILK (-7.7%), WTL (0.0%), TPL (+7.5%), BYCO (+1.4%), BOP (+2.0%) and ANL (+2.1%). The Finance Minister has agreed to extend the 10-year Income Tax holiday to the existing refineries due to which NRL (+2.3%), ATRL (+1.3%), BYCO (+1.4%) and PRL (+0.5%) closed in the green zone.

Furthermore, Large steel producers and documented steel plants are planning to shut down their operations and go on a hunger strike against government policy of removal of 17 percent Federal Excise Duty (FED) for erstwhile tribal areas in the Federal Budget (2021-22) due to which MUGHAL (-1.5%), ISL (-1.1%) and ASL (-2.7%) closed in the red zone. Going forward, we expect volatility in the market due to roll-over week and recommend investors to avail any downside as an opportunity to buy in construction and export oriented sectors.