Morning Market Brief 23rd Dec. 2020

The Benchmark KSE100 index had confirmed its evening shooting star during last trading session which indicates that it's going for a correction of its recent bullish rally, meanwhile index have penetrated below its initial supportive region of 43,000pts and these both aspects would add pressure on index during current trading session and it would slide more downward. As of now it's expected that index would continue its bearish journey towards 42,550pts while breakout below that region would push it towards 42,350pts and 42,065pts. While on flip side index would face initial resistance at 43,160pts which would be followed by 43,500pts-43,650pts region in case of bullish reversal. It's recommended to stay on selling side with strict stop loss. Daily and hourly momentum indicators are in bearish mode and it's expected that index would face some serious pressure which may lead index towards 42,000pts in coming days. Index would remain range bound until it would not succeed in giving a breakout of either 44,200pts in bullish direction of 41,500pts in bearish direction. Breakout of either side would push index for a serious rally in respective direction. For day trading it's recommended to sell on strength.

Asian firms turned most optimistic in the fourth quarter this year, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed, as business activity picked up in the region and COVID-19 vaccines started rolling out in Western countries ahead of their Asian launch.The outlook for Asian companies in the next six months tracked by the Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Index jumped to 62 this quarter from 53 in the third quarter. The latest number according to the survey of 101 firms across 11 Asia-Pacific countries was the highest since the fourth quarter of 2019. A reading above 50 indicates a positive outlook. “There’s a sense of optimism going forward,” said Antonio Fatas, Singapore-based economics professor at global business school INSEAD.Read More...

In a ‘great news on economy’, the country’s current account for the fifth consecutive month rose to $447 million in November this year. In November 2020, the current account surplus rose further to $447 million against a deficit of $326 million in November 2019. So far in five months (July to November) of the current fiscal year, the current account surplus has reached $1.6 billion compared to a deficit of $1.7 billion over the same period last year, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). Prime Minister Imran Khan has also shared the news of current account surplus on twitter. He said, “Despite Covid 19 great news on economy- remarkable turnaround.” Current account surplus again in Nov is $447 million for fiscal year so far, surplus is $1.6 billion as opposed to deficit of $1.7 billon same period last year. SBP’s FX reserves have risen to about $13 billion, highest in 3 years, he added.Read More...

NEPRA has Tuesday said that Competitive Trading Bilateral Contracts Market (CTBCM) would be a game-changer for the power industry of Pakistan. NEPRA hosted a webinar on Competitive Trading Bilateral Contracts Market (CTBCM). A large number of renowned national and international experts and stakeholders of the electric power sector participated. NEPRA Chairman, Tauseef H. Farooqi opened the webinar by thanking the participants and highlighted light on the objectives of the webinar on the CTBCM Model. He expressed that CTBCM will prove to be a game-changer for the Power Industry of Pakistan. He stated that NEPRA has approved the detailed design and implementation plan of the CTBCM that will usher in a competitive environment in the power sector benefiting the country. Read More...

The British American Tobacco (BAT) has decided to move its Business Shared Services operations from Malaysia to Pakistan after decades, indicating Pakistan is now being considered as a cost effective location. After Deutsche Bank withdrew its Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operations from Pakistan, no major multinational company (MNC) considered moving its BPO operations to Pakistan, said ministry of commerce in a statement. Now after decades, the British American Tobacco (BAT) has decided to move its Business Shared Services operations from Malaysia to Pakistan. This is an indication that Pakistan is now being considered as a cost effective location for activities like back office services, BPO, call centres, etc. This is a major development and it is hoped that other multinationals will follow suit. Read More...

Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project (1410 MW), completed in 2018 by the PML (N) government, has earned the World Bank admiration for the successful implementation and effective operation. According to the World Bank Tarbela 4th completion in less than budget, estimates is very rare worldwide and in the past two years, the benefits from the project are twice its capital cost. This has been acknowledged in the World Bank Implementation Support Mission Aide Memoire, recently shared with the Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Energy – Power Division and Economic Affairs Division, Government of Pakistan. According to WAPDA spokesman, a 7-member World Bank Mission inspected from December 1 to 8, 2020 to review the status of implementation of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project.Read More...