Morning Market Brief 9th May 2022

Technical Overview

The Benchmark KSE100 index had penetrated inside its previous descending wedge on daily and weekly charts after a clear bullish breakout of that wedge, therefore it needs to stay cautious because index may face some serious pressure initially during current trading session which would try to push index towards 44,265pts where it would try to establish ground above a strong horizontal supportive region. In case of bullish pull back from that region index would try to target 45,000pts and 45,200pts in coming days but it would remain under pressure as long as it would trade below 45,500pts on daily chart. For long positions it's recommended either to adopt wait and see strategy or go for buying in chunks with strict stop loss of 44,200pts on daily closing basis because breakout below this region would call for 43,700pts and 43,350pts. Currently momentum indicators are foreseeing pressure from selling side but on longer run index would try to bounce back if it would succeed in establishing ground above 43,700pts.

Asian stocks retreat as China's lockdowns stir recession worries

Asian markets were in retreat on Monday as U.S. stock futures slid on rate worries, and a tightening lockdown in Shanghai stoked concerns about global economic growth and possible recession."A series of rate hikes and hawkish communication came against a backdrop of plummeting Chinese and European activity, new plans for Russian energy bans and continued supply-side pressures," warned analysts at Barclays."This creates the gloomy prospect of persistent inflation forcing central banks to hike rates despite sharply slowing growth."There was no let up in China's zero-COVID policy with Shanghai tightening the city-wide COVID lockdown for 25 million residents.Read More...

Business News

Govt Urged To Withdraw 17pc ST On Agriculture Seeds

Pakistan Hi-Tech Hybrid Seed Association on Sunday demanded of the government immediate withdrawal of 17 percent Sales Tax on all kinds of agricultural seeds to avoid shifting of its burden on poor people besides fully protecting planned Chinese investment on “China Hybrid Agriculture Model and Transfer of Technology” under phase-II of CPEC.Presiding over Executive Committee meeting of the association here Sunday, Chairman Shahzad Ali Malik said it will definitively jeopardise envisioned investment avenues in agriculture sector and act as disincentive for Chinese investors in relation to their planned investments in CPEC having major focus on “China Hybrid Agriculture Model and Transfer of Technology”.He said agriculture together with agro based products fetches sizeable chunk of country’s total exports earnings. He said Pakistan is in direct competition with the top agricultural produce exporting countries of the world.Read More...

Pakistan Has Potential To Capture Share In $3tr Halal Industry

The strict compliance of certification can help Pakistan to take halal products exports to US $5 to $6 billion annually and capture a sizeable share in the $3 trillion world halal food industry.Speaking at a Round Table Conference on “How to boost halal food exports?”, Meher Kashif Younis former senior Vice President Lahore Chamber said in Lahore on Sunday that Pakistan can increase manifolds food exports by formulating and implementing policies in association with the private sector. He said there is a need to increase Pakistan halal food production and exports of semi-cooked meat which holds high demand in China and other Far East countries. He said Europe is currently generating 80 percent of global halal revenue.He said that demand for halal products had increased manifold because of the growing Muslim population worldwide. Therefore, the government should encourage exports of such products and asked the exporters to continue to explore the world market and focus on research and compliance, which is a must while doing business in the global marketplace.Read More...

PFC Offers Free Skilled Wood Training To Convicts In Jails

Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC) had offered free specialised training to convicts in Punjab jails to produce the best quality skilled wood workers. Talking to Inspector General of Prisons Punjab Mirza Shahid Saleem Baig on Sunday, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pakistan Furniture Council Mian Kashif Ashfaq offered totally free training package and discussed its modalities and scope of enhancement of cooperation between public and private sector. He said that at present Pakistan is facing acute shortage of highly skilled wood workers so we decided in principle to meet this alarming scarcity of artisans by training the convicts on modern scientific lines to meet market driven demands. He further offered that on successful completion of proper training, all convicts after release, will be absorbed in furniture manufacturing factories with good pay packages.Read More...

China’s Logistics Sector Reports Contraction In April

China’s logistics sector was less upbeat in April amid the domestic resurgence of COVID-19, data from the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) showed. The logistics performance index, which tracks business volume, new orders, employment, inventory turnovers and equipment utility rates in the sector, came in at 43.8 percent in April, down 4.9 percentage points from the previous month. A reading above 50 percent indicates expansion while a reading below 50 reflects contraction. He Hui, assistant president of the CFLP, said that the short-term effects, however, will gradually weaken with the implementation of epidemic control measures and policies to facilitate logistics. He noted that China’s resilient industrial and supply chains, as well as its vast market, will support the recovery of the logistics sector.Read More...