AKD Securities Limited - AKD Daily (01 March 2023)

FLASHNEWS:

KSE-100 Experiences Volatility, Closing Lower in Recent Session

KSE-100 Sees Decline, Mixed Indicators Suggest Uncertain Future in Karachi Market

Karachi Stock Exchange Sees Modest Movements Amid Varied Sector Performances

HBL Launches Women’s Tekken Tournament in Lahore to Empower Female Gamers

Pakistani Banks to Implement IFRS 9 Standards Starting January 2024

Cement Companies’ Earnings Outlook Mixed in Upcoming Quarterly Results

VIS Credit Rating Reaffirms ‘A+/A-1’ Ratings for Zephyr Power Limited with Stable Outlook

PTCL Group Reports 14% Revenue Growth in Q1 Amid Expanding Digital Services

Foodpanda and CIRCLE Partner to Boost Women Entrepreneurs in Pakistan’s Culinary Industry

Zong Business Partners with China Gezhouba Construction Management Services to Enhance Digital Operations

Exchange Rates Experience Minor Fluctuations in Pakistan’s Currency Market

Telenor Microfinance Bank Reports PKR 1.2 Billion Pre-tax Profit in 2023, Secures Digital Retail Bank License

Fly Jinnah Launches Islamabad-Muscat Route, Expands International Service

Sindh Government Commits PKR 14.7 Billion to K-IV Water Project

General

AKD Securities Limited – AKD Daily (01 March 2023)

March 1, 2023

Karachi, March 01, 2023 (PPI-OT): Pakistan Strategy – Feb’23 Market Review and Outlook

While the KSE-100 index closed down by a meagre 163 points or down 0.40%MoM, the bands it traded between were as wide as 2,600 points.

Major themes during the month were unveiling of the PkR170bn mini-budget, gas price revisions and cutoff yields reaching historic highs of 19.95% for the 3M paper in latest auction.

We expect the MPC to increase policy rates by at least 200bps, without ruling out an even higher hike in the country’s benchmark interest rates when it meets on Thursday, predicated on heightened inflation.

Cement sector led the way during the month with the sector returning ~4.3% over the course of Feb’23 – making it one of the best performing sectors during the period under review.

We expect market direction to be dictated by the impending staff-level agreement with the IMF, which will hopefully be followed by inflows from friendly partners.