Pakistan Stock Market rises by 386 points

The KSE-100 Index gained 386.60 points and closed the session at 32,850.83 on day which saw a sudden jumped of 474.06 points in the first few minutes of early trading.

However, it was followed by a downward movement as the index went down to the level of 32,448.53 after starting the day from 32,464.23.

However, the Thursday’s session, which marked by fluctuations, ended on a positive note with a total of 161,120,802 shares being traded.

The share prices of 166 companies went up and of 141 were down, while 22 remained unchanged.

On a whole, the automobile sector performed well with the likes of Indus Motors, Pak Suzuki Motors and Honda Atlas making gains.

But it wasn’t good for cable and electrical goods as Siemens, Pak Electron and Waves Singer witnessing a cut in their share prices.

Same was the case with cement and chemical companies as most of them saw losses with the exception of a few which saw slight gains.

Meanwhile, the majority of commercial banks too saw a slight cut in their value.

But perhaps the worst sector-wise performance was witnessed in the case of engineering and technology companies.

However, fertilizer, power generation and oil/gas sectors were the best performers albeit they lacked a significant upward movement.

The latest  386.60 gains followed the Wednesday’ session when the KSE-100 Index had closed flat at 32,464.23, meaning it made a net gain of mere 41.40 points after starting the day from the level of 32,422.83.

The economic stagnation caused by the coronavirus and the historic slump in oil prices is being attributed as the reason behind the trend but the top stock markets around the world are not performing badly.

This disconnect with the global markets raises some serious questions about the PSX, as the government interventions like slashing the interest rate and the State Bank pumping dollars into the market bring some temporary relief that doesn’t last for more than two or three days.

See Also: Dollar loses 38 paisas against rupee

Meanwhile, the AFP reported that oil prices rallied Thursday on fresh tensions between the US and Iran, but equities struggled to build on strong gains as data revealed a dire economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

Traders were also looking ahead to a meeting of EU leaders Thursday, where they will try to hammer out a plan to help their withered economies recover from the crisis.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany was ready to pay into a "significantly higher" EU budget to help the bloc cope with the fallout.

Overall, the eurozone economy headed by Germany is suffering an "unprecedented" collapse according to a PMI index released Thursday by analysis firm IHS Markit.

The company's purchasing manager's index (PMI) dived to a record-low of 13.5 in April, from the previous all-time low of 29.7 in March, confirming private sector gloom that is savaging the 19-nation eurozone.

A reading below 50 signals a contraction.

UK data were also at unprecedented low levels.

With devastation wrought on economies around the world, some governments are turning their attention to easing tough restrictions that have been imposed on billions of people for the past weeks.

But observers say the route out of the crisis remains uncertain, while the head of the World Health Organization warned the end was still a long way off.

As for oil prices, which plunged below zero earlier this week, a recovery was in full swing.

Phillip Futures said crude rallied Thursday on "heightened risk in the Middle East" after US President Donald Trump tweeted he had "instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea".

Global stock markets meanwhile continue to win support thanks to trillions of dollars of central bank stimulus and an easing to government lockdowns.