Morning Market Brief 3rd Aug. 2020

The Benchmark KSE100 index have continued its bullish journey during last week and have succeeded in closing above two major psychological briars of 38,700pts and 39,200pts. As of now index have resistances ahead at 39,500pts and 39,800pts and if it would succeed in closing above these both regions then next target would be 40,000pts and 40,500pts, mean while closing above 40,000pts would open doors for 41,200pts in coming days. It's recommended to stay cautious because if index would face rejection from its resistant regions then it would face some serious pressure from bears who would try to push index for a correction but index would remain range bound until its trading above 37,500pts. On intraday basis in case of pressure index would try to find ground at 38,860 and 38,700pts.

Asian share markets turned mixed on Monday as U.S. lawmakers struggled to hammer out a new stimulus plan amid a global surge of new coronavirus cases, though a squeeze on crowded short positions gave the dollar a rare bounce. Sentiment was helped by a survey showing China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in nearly a decade in July, with the Caixin/Markit PMI at 52.8. That lifted Chinese blue chips 0.9% .CSI300. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dipped 0.2%, though that was from a six-month top. Japan's Nikkei .N225 added 2.1% courtesy of a pullback in the yen, while South Korea shares .KS11 were flat. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 inched up 0.1%, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures STXEc1 and FTSE futures FFIc1 were little changed.Read More...

The business activities in Pakistan has started showing signs of recovery as Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) grew by 20.5 per cent on month on month basis over April 2020. According to monthly economic updates issued by finance division, year on year growth of LSM decreased by 24.8 per cent in May 2020 as compared to same month a year ago. However the average growth of LSM during July-May FY 2020 plunged by 10.3 per cent. During July-June FY 2020, total cement dispatches in the country edged up by 1.98 per cent to 47.81MT (46.88 MT last year).Read More...

The exports of plastic materials from the country witnessed decreased of 7.09 per cent during the fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the corresponding period of last year. Pakistan exported plastic worth $295.968 million during July-June (2019-20) compared to the exports of $318.563 million during July-June (2018-19), showing a decline of 7.09 per cent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, the exports of plastic witnessed an increase of 13.04 per cent as the country exported 285,851 metric ton of plastic during the period under review as compared to the exports of 252,879 metric ton during last fiscal year.Read More...

Almost all the agricultural micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Sindh and Balochistan have been severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic and need urgent government help for their survival of their enterprises, according to a Covid-19 survey carried out by the International Trade Centre (ITC). The Geneva-based ITC, a joint agency of UN and World Trade Organisation (WTO), is implementing a six-year ‘Growth for Rural Advanc­ement and Sustainable (GRASP) project desi­gned to reduce poverty in Pakistan by strengthening small-scale agribusinesses in Sindh and Balochistan. The project, which started in 2019 with the funding of European Union, will complete in 2024.Read More...

The government has launched e-Khidmat centres and a web-portal to facilitate builders who have pledged to commence economic activities in the construction sector. The decision to set up e-Khidmat centres and a web portal was taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan during a meeting of the National Coordination Commit­tee on Housing, Construction and Development (NCCHCD) on Thursday. A source privy to the meeting told Dawn on Friday that the meeting served as a morale booster for the builders and developers who welcomed the support being extended by the government towards resolving their issues and providing them conducive environment to start projects in the construction sector.Read More...