Karachi, September 10, 2021 (PPI-OT): KSE-100 trumps noise on MSCI downgrade

The KSE100 Index closed on a positive note this week at 47,198 level, gaining 241 points over last Friday. Average daily traded volumes decreased 7.1% WoW to 429mn shares while average value traded was recorded at US$87mn per day, reflecting a weekly rise of 4.8%. Market participants remained cautious in the first three trading days over a rising import bill and lack of clarity on the macro-economic front. This was also built upon by MSCI’s decision on Wednesday to downgrade Pakistan from Emerging to Frontier market status citing size and liquidity of the Pakistani market as main reasons.

The US$ rose to a high of Rs168 during the week. Moreover, the SBP reported that the inflow of workers’ remittances into Pakistan increased by 27% YoY to $2.65 bn in August (a decade-high growth). Nonetheless, the week also witnessed PSX’s fastest subscribed IPO of Octopus Digital with the issue getting oversubscribed by ~27x. On sector-wise performance, Refineries rebounded this week over news of the Refinery Policy being close to finalization. Cement dispatches for the month of August showed some improvement compared to last month’s numbers, while dispatch growth on a YoY basis showed an increase of 23%.