Morning Market Brief 25th Mar. 2021

The Benchmark KSE100 index have failed to gave a bullish breakout above its initial resistant region which fall between 45,650pts-45,700pts and its still being capped by same resistant regions on daily and hourly charts and if index would not succeed to continue its bullish sentiment during current trading session then it can be expected that an evening shooting star could take place in response of previous morning star on daily chart. It's recommended to stay cautious and post trailing stop loss on existing long positions because if index would not succeed in recovering above this region then a sharp dip may be witnessed in coming days because this region fall at 61.85 correction level of its previous bearish rally. Meanwhile hourly and daily momentum indicators are still in mixed mode and these have not declared their clear direction which may create panic among investors if index would not succeed in penetration above 45,650pts-45,700pts region. In case of breakout above this region index would face next resistance between 45,931pts-46,150pts where its being capped by a strong resistance again. On flip side index would try to establish ground above 45,000pts initially while breakout below this region would push it further downward till 44,700pts. It's recommended to avoid initiating new long positions today as index is being capped by supportive trend line of its previous bullish price channel which would try to react as a resistant region as well. Overall a volatile session would be witnessed during the day as index would try to open with a gap and later on could face some serious pressure from its resistant regions.

Agri industry upgrade may help reduce Pak-China trade deficit

Although Pakistan’s trade deficit with China has declined in recent years, it may still be an important factor affecting the sustained and healthy development of bilateral trade. Since the first phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement came into effect, bilateral trade volume has increased from USD 2.2 billion in 2005 to USD 15.6 billion in 2019. However, 75% of Pakistan’s exports to China are concentrated in a few products such as cotton and rice, leading to a large export deficit with China. Agriculture is the main driving force of Pakistan economic growth, and the export of agricultural products is the largest source of Pakistan foreign exchange income. The Chinese government has always encouraged the expansion of trade with Pakistan, hoping to import more goods from Pakistan, especially agricultural products. Read More...

The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) Wednesday cleared nine development projects with a cumulative estimated cost of Rs15.40 billion. The CDWP meeting presided over by deputy chairman of Planning Commission Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan cleared nine development projects related to health and food & agriculture. Secretary Planning Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh, senior officials from Planning Commission and Federal Ministries/Divisions also participated in the meeting while representatives from provincial governments participated through video conference. Eight projects worth Rs. 10.14 billion related to health under COVID-19 programme, submitted by government of Punjab, were presented in the meeting. First project namely “Upgradation of DHQ Hospital, District Hafizabad” worth Rs. 8281.339 million; second project namely “Upgradation of THQ Hospital Minchinabad Division, Bhawalngar from 40 to 100 Bed” worth Rs 378.596 million, third project titled “.Read More...

Pakistan’s exports of goods and services to USA witnessed a surge of 11.86 per cent during the eight months of financial year (2020-21) compared to the corresponding period last year. The overall exports to USA were recorded as $3082.199 million during July-February (2020-21) against exports of $2755.188 million during July- February (2019-20), showing growth of 11.86 per cent, SBP data revealed. Meanwhile, on year-to-year basis, exports to USA during February 2021 also increased by 27.68 per cent, from $314.802 million against the exports of $401.949 million. However, month-on-month basis, exports to USA rose by 0.50 per cent during February 2021 in comparison with exports of $399.931 million in January 2021, SBP data said. Overall Pakistan’s exports to other countries witnessed decline of 2.26 per cent in eight months, from $16.438 billion to $16.065 billion. Read More...

The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has called for better development of industrial areas to boost industrialization. Fatma Azim, acting president of ICCI, along with a delegation of local industrialists called on Tariq Sadiq, former president of ICCI, and congratulated him on being elected as the president of Islamabad Industrial Association (IIA). Speaking at the occasion, Fatma Azim said that the advanced countries have achieved fast economic growth by promoting the development of industrial zones, but industrial areas in Islamabad were facing multiple problems due to which industrial activities were suffering. She called upon the CDA & MCI to focus on better development of industrial areas in the federal capital that would boost industrialisation in the region and enhance exports. She assured that ICCI would cooperate with IIA in its efforts for resolving the key issues of local industries. Read More...