Karachi, March 18, 2022 (PPI-OT): Volatility in KSE-100 amid political uncertainty, down by 1.4% WoW

The KSE-100 saw volatility throughout the week amid political uncertainty and implications of the Russia-Ukraine war, closing in at 43,030 points, down by 1.4% WoW. Among sectors, heavy weight sectors such as Banks and E and Ps exerted downward pressure on the market declining by 4.2% and 6.4% WoW respectively while Food sector remained among the gainers increasing by 0.9%. Average volume declined 19% WoW while average value traded decreased by 32% WoW. Foreigners remained sellers during the week with net foreign selling rising to US$4.9mn from US$3.1mn last week where major selling was witnessed in Banks (US$6.0mn) and OMCs (US$0.7mn).

On the news front, SBP released private sector credit off-take data indicating growth of 116% YoY during 8MFY22 to Rs874bn while textile exports as per PBS posted a growth of 26% YoY to US$12.6bn during the same period. FDI numbers posted a growth of 6% YoY during 8MFY22 to US$1.26bn. ECC also approved fertilizer subsidy and a higher wheat support price during the week. On the international front, IMF trimmed its global growth forecast by 0.5ppts to 4.4% amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war while the US FED decided to push the interest rate higher by 0.25%.