Pakistan’s stock market opened the week on a bullish note as an extension to the rally started last week based on positive news from the economic front and a rise in oil prices in the international market.
KSE-100 index opened the day positively and reached up to 46,762 points with a jump of 367 points in the first twenty minutes of the trade.
Certain positive news supported market sentiments. Investors were optimistic due to improved revenue collection statistics along with news of the arrival of the vaccine’s first batch from China and the Prime Minister’s remarks on a lower rate of inflation compared to 2018, analysts and traders said. The renewed interest in oil and energy stocks was due to an upward movement in oil prices in international markets.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) reported a 6.4 percent increase in revenue collection during the first seven months of the current fiscal year, compared to the same period last year. The collection reached 2.57 trillion rupees, surpassing the estimated target of 2.55 trillion rupees, the revenue department’s statement read.
The first consignment of the COVID-19 vaccine from China has arrived in Pakistan. A special plane of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) landed in Islamabad on Monday morning with 0.5 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine gifted by China.
Oil prices edged higher on Monday following a weak start, holding onto the past three months of gains, although patchy coronavirus vaccine rollouts, new infections and the discovery of new variants are keeping a lid on prices.
Brent crude futures were up 10 cents at $55.14 a barrel by 0233 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1 cents to $52.21. Both benchmarks gained nearly 8% in January.
Oil prices have been boosted by vaccination programmes starting out in hard-hit countries and by output cuts by major producers like Saudi Arabia. However, euphoria over a possible end to the pandemic has been undermined by the slow pace of vaccinations and the rise in new variants of the virus.
