Karachi, January 28, 2022 (PPI-OT): KSE100 remains flattish this week

The KSE100 Index remained flattish during the week closing at 45,078 points, up by 0.1% WoW. Sector wise, Cements remained among top performers (up by 1.2% WoW) while on the other hand Technology sector remained among underperformers declining by 1.9% WoW. Investor participation plunged further during the week as it decreased by 6.8% WoW to 187mn shares while a decrease of 9.0% WoW was witnessed in the average daily traded value. Foreign investors remained net sellers which accumulated to US$4.0mn this week. Largest selling was witnessed in the Technology Sector (US$2.3mn) followed by the Cement Sector (US$1.2mn) and the Fertilizer Sector (US$1.1mn).

On the news front, Current Account Deficit (CAD) jumped to US$9.1bn for 1HFY22 as against a surplus of US$1.2bn during 1HFY21. CAD now stands at 5.7% of GDP. Growth in LSM on the other hand slowed down to 3.26% YoY during 5MFY22. SBP maintained policy rate at 9.75% during MPC announced this week. Moreover, the government auctioned Islamic Sukuk worth US$1bn. Furthermore, IMF postponed its meeting for Pakistan’s 6th review under EFF to 2nd Feb 2022. On the international front, international oil prices broke past US$90/barrel for the first time since 2014.