FLASHNEWS:

JS Securities Limited – Weekly Review (17 -03 -2023)

Karachi, March 17, 2023 (PPI-OT): IMF delay continues to burden KSE100, down 1% WoW

After a stable start to the week, KSE100 closed in negative territory as delay in IMF continued to prolong, hinged upon formal assurances from friendly countries. The market closed at 41,330 points, down 1.1% WoW where sector wise E and Ps were among top performers while Banking and Food Sectors were key under performers. Foreigners remained net sellers (US$5.0mn) with the highest selling witnessed in the Banking sector (US$2.5mn).

On the news front, SBP reserves remained largely stable WoW at US$4.3bn. Where as per the Finance Minister, documentation for second disbursement from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has also been completed which is expected to be received next week. Petroleum prices were increased during the week with petrol now at Rs272/lit (up by Rs5/lit) and diesel at Rs293/lit (up Rs13/lit) attributable to the depreciation of PKR. Govt managed to raise Rs26bn in the recent PIB auction short of its target of Rs100bn signalling higher returns being demanded by investors. Data for LSM showed a decline of 8% YoY in Jan-23 reflecting the ongoing economic slowdown whereas remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis reflected a 5% MoM increase in Feb-23 largely due to transition to a free floating exchange rate.