PAK SHARES GET THEIR MOJO BACK

dubai — The Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday reversed bearish trend following the resignation of finance minister Asad Umar as the market crossed psychological barrier of 37,000 points.

Asad Umar stepped down on Thursday amid allegations that he had failed to take the country out of a severe economic crisis.

The KSE-100 benchmark index opened on positive note and recorded an increase of more than 600 points in morning session. It closed 1.31 per cent, or 480.61 points, up at 37,292.47 points after hitting intra-day high at 37,720 points. “There were rumours in the market about the removal of Asad Umar for the last few days and investors were waiting for the news. They took it positively because there were uncertainties and investors were indecisive to take long positions,” Zeeshan Afzal, executive director, Research, Insight Securities, said.

About 138.9 million shares worth Rs6 billion were traded on Friday. Out of 314 companies, 219 companies’ shares closed in positive columns while 79 stocks ended in the negative territory and 16 shares remained unchanged.

Stockbrokers described recovery as a positive step for the economy and said that investors are showing confidence in the market after the change in guards on the economic front. Investors are confident that the market would continue its positive trend next week amid hopes that Prime Minister’s new advisor on finance Dr Hafeez Sheikh will conclude a deal with the IMF deal and turnaround the economy.

“I hope the market trend will continue over the next few months. Once the IMF deal is finalised, investor confidence will be restored in government policies,” he added.

Once the IMF deal is finalised, investor confidence will be restored in government policies

Zeeshan Afzal, Executive director, Research, Insight Securities

The big takeaway over the past week is the US is doing OK and outlooks are reasonable Ben Phillips,

Chief investment officer at EventShares

Japan, China climb

Meanwhile, Tokyo and Shanghai stocks closed higher on Friday but trade lacked direction with several major markets closed for Easter holidays.

Chinese shares ended the day at a near 13-month closing high, with signs of an economic recovery in China contributing to a recent surge.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.63 per cent at 3,270.80, erasing earlier losses. It was the strongest close for the index since March 21, 2018. The bluechip CSI300 index was up 1.19 per cent at 4,120.61 points, its highest close since March 12, 2018.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, added 0.94 per cent, or 16.51 points, to end the day at 1,778.81.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index added 0.5 per cent, or 110.44 points, to 22,200.56, while the broader Topix index climbed 0.12 per cent, or 1.96 points, to 1,616.93. The market’s main gainer was Nintendo, which jumped more than 14 per cent on reports its games and popular Switch console will soon be available in China.

The Japanese market stayed comfortably in positive territory throughout the day, initially lifted by strong gains in overseas markets. But a lack of fresh clues and the closure of several major international markets for Easter prompted position adjustment and profit-taking in the afternoon session, said Okasan Online Securities in a commentary.

“After an initial round of buying subsided, (the Nikkei index) became trapped inside a narrow range around 21,200,” Okasan said. “Only few investors were chasing the higher end of the market since major foreign markets are entering a break through Monday,” it said. Wall Street shares finished modestly higher on Thursday following a batch of mostly solid corporate earnings and a successful market debut of technology company Pinterest.

“The big takeaway over the past week is the US is doing OK and (company) outlooks are initially reasonable,” said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer at EventShares.

The dollar stood at 111.91 yen in Asian trade, slightly slipping from 112.00 yen in New York overnight. Tokyo investors are gradually preparing themselves for a special 10-day holiday from the end of the month for an upcoming imperial succession.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange will be closed from Saturday April 27 through Monday, May 6. Trading will resume from Tuesday, May 7.