PSX Daily Market Review - 15th May 2018

Trading volume at PSX floor increased by 11.44 million shares or 6.94% on DoD basis during last trading session, whereas the benchmark KSE100 Index opened at 43,543.08, posted a day high of 43,543.08 and a day low of 42,435.65 during last trading session. The session suspended at 42,498.86 with net change of -1095.93 and net trading volume of 97.49 million shares. Daily trading volume of KSE100 listed companies increased by 11.19 million shares or 12.97% on DoD basis.
Foreign Investors remained in net selling position of 1.86 million shares and net value of Foreign Inflow dropped by 2.14 million US Dollars. Categorically, Foreign Individuals and Foreign Corporate remained in net buying positions of 0.09 and 1.75 million shares but Overseas Pakistanis Investors remained in net selling positions of 3.70 million shares. While on the other side Local Individuals, Local Companies, Mutual Fund and Brokers remained in net selling positions of 8.43, 1.54, 7.19 and 1.82 million shares but Banks and Insurance Companies remained in net buying positions of 10.08 and 8.77 million shares respectively.

Asian stocks step back on tepid Wall Street, oil elevated
Asia stocks pulled back on Tuesday, after an uninspiring performance on Wall Street eclipsed support from U.S.-China trade optimism, while supply concerns kept crude oil prices near 3-1/2-year highs. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dipped 0.16 percent after rising 0.6 percent the previous day to its highest since late March. Australian stocks inched up 0.05 percent, South Korea's KOSPI .KS11 shed 0.05 percent and Japan's Nikkei .N225 was flat. Wall Street scraped out gains on Monday after weakness in defensive stocks offset optimism following U.S. President Donald Trump’s conciliatory remarks toward China’s ZTE Corp that helped calm U.S.-China trade tensions. Investors in Chinese equities will likely rejig their exposure after MSCI, the U.S. index publisher, published its latest index weighting.
Utility Stores start selling subsidised food items
Utility Stores Cooperation (USC) outlets on Monday started selling food items at subsidised rates across the country under the Rs 1.73 billion Ramazan Relief Package 2018. Addressing a press conference, Minister of State for Industries and Production Sardar Arshad Ahmed Leghari said that 19 essential commodities would be provided on subsidised rates to facilitate the middle income and lower income people through countrywide network of Utility Stores. According to officials, Rs 4 per kg subsidy on wheat flour (atta), Rs 5 per kg on sugar and Rs 15 per kg on Ghee would be provided. Rs 10-15 per kg subsidy would also be given on different pulses including moong, mash and gram. Besides, Rs 30 per kg subsidy is being provided on dates and Rs 25 per kg on gram flour (baisan) and Rs 15 per kg on rice, whereas Rs 50 per kg subsidy is being provided on tea. As much as 50,000 metric tons of flour, 40,000 metric tons of sugar and 30,000 metric tons of Ghee would be provided on controlled rates to consumers through USC outlets across the country.
ADB, Pakistan agree to scale up PPPs
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government of Pakistan have agreed to chart new ways to pursue more robust and inclusive ADB investments in Pakistan by scaling up public-private partnerships (PPPs) to tap the private sector resources and to meet the country’s rising infrastructure development needs. The agreement to this regard was developed at 3-day ADB Country Programming and Public-Private Partnerships in Pakistan consultation workshop, which was held at Bourbon, near Islamabad. The event was attended by over 100 delegates of senior government officials, leading economists, planners from federal and four provincial governments and ADB’s key staff. Apart from discussing other issues, the event was organised to discuss the development opportunities and pipeline of projects as part of the ADB’s Country Operation Business Plan for the period of 2019 to 2021.
Bangladesh bourse sells stake to China, rejects India bid
Bangladesh's main stock exchange signed an agreement Monday selling a quarter of the bourse to a Chinese consortium, an official said, formally rejecting a rival bid from regional ally India. Officials from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange inked the deal to acquire 25 percent of the Dhaka Stock Exchange's (DSE) 1.8 billion shares, the bourse's spokesman Shafiqur Rahman told AFP. "The finance minister was the chief guest at the signing ceremony," he said. The Chinese consortium offered 21 taka ($0.25) per share, around $122 million, during the tender process and pledged additional technical support worth nearly $37 million. The National Stock Exchange of India made a lower offer of 15 taka per share. Local media reported that the Mumbai-based NSE tried to pressure the Dhaka bourse into accepting its bid.
Govt serves up Rs16bn damages for delays in LNG power plants
The government has claimed about Rs16 billion liquidity damages (LDs) from Chinese contractors and their local partners for delays in commissioning of its two LNG-based power projects of about 1,230MW each in Punjab. A senior official said the National Power Projects Management Company Ltd (NPPMCL) had formally issued notices to the contractors of both the projects for recovery of liquidity damages. Under the contract, he said the contractors were required to pay 10pc of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) cost of the project, he said. The 1,230MW LNG-based power project at Balloki-Kasur, near Lahore was given to Harbin Electric International and Habib Rafique Group as EPC contract at an estimated cost of about $600 million while similar project at Haveli Bahadur Shah in Jhang was given on EPC to Power Construction Corporation of China and Al-Qavi Engineering at $624m.

The Benchmark KSE100 Index have dropped drastically after sliding below its major supportive region of 43,300 points and targeted its two expansions of 42,860 and 42,500 in one day by posting day low at 42,431 during last trading session. Daily Stochastic and MAORSI are still in bearish mode and it’s expected that daily momentum would try to push index towards 41,700 and 40,500 in coming days but before those regions an intraday pull back could be witnessed because intraday indicators have reached overbought regions and index have strong supportive regions ahead at 42,180 and 41,600. Two supportive trend lines are generating crossover with a horizontal support at 41,590 points therefore it’s expected that index would try to pull back before that region and also it would find some ground at 42,180 points during current trading session. If index would not penetrate 42,180 points during current trading session then a short term pullback could be witnessed for a slight correction. Its recommended to initiate trading with strict stop loss during current trading session.