KSE budget proposals given final shape

KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) has given a final shape to their budget proposals for the next financial year, which included the demand for the abolition of capital value tax.A KSE director told Geo News that KSE has finalized its budget proposals, which the Board meeting slated April 14 would approve. KSE director said that the budget proposals also demanded ending capital value tax and exempting dividend from income tax. Besides, the bridging of gap between the corporate tax and tax on public sector companies has also been proposed.KSE Board after approval of the budget proposals will send it to SECP and finance ministry.

KSE members hail announcement of Governor Rule lifting

KARACHI: Members of Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Saturday hailed the announcement by President Asif Ali Zardari regarding lifting of the Governor Rule in Punjab.They said the announcement will further fuel the bull the run being witnessed at the share market.Senior members of KSE including Aqeel Karim Dedhi, Arif Habib, Siddique Dalal and Faisal Rajab Ali talking to Geo News said the announcements made by the President will not only promote the process of reconciliation in the country but also clear up uncertainties.

Bulls return to KSE; contribute 219 points to 100-Index

KARACHI: Aggressive buying at Karachi Stock Exchange on Friday pushed the benchmark KSE-100 Index by 219 points to 6,826.Today’s trade started in the green zone but kept on moving across the fence throughout the day. However, investors were seen taking positions in energy and banking stocks in the second session which took the major Index to the present level.The market turnover was recorded at 220 million shares.Bank Alfalah drew maximum activity which slipped paisas 18 to close at Rs14.92.KSE-30 Index surged by 253 points to finish the day at 7,375.Market analysts are of the view that the bullish trend could gain momentum in the next week.

Profit taking erodes 66 points from KSE

KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange witnessed profit taking on Thursday, pulling away 66 points from the benchmark KSE-100 Index which closed at 6,608.Today’s trade began in the positive zone but later selling in banking and energy stocks switched the share market into bearish mode.The trade volume remained strong at 200 million shares.Nishat Mills emerged as today’s volume leader which lost Rs1.62 to close at Rs30.87.Market analysts foresee resistance at 5,500 level.

MSCI Pakistan Index reclassified as MSCI Frontier Markets Index

GENEVA: MSCI Inc, a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide including indices and portfolio risk and performance analytics, announced today, following a consultation with the investment community, the reclassification of the MSCI Pakistan Index as MSCI Frontier Markets Index. Some participants to the consultation have positively highlighted the return to normal trading conditions on the Karachi Stock Exchange and the resulting increased liquidity. However, a majority of market participants stressed the need for the Pakistani equity market to function without any trading disruptions for some time as a condition to any potential consideration of the MSCI Pakistan Index for re-inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. In addition, the MSCI Pakistan Index no longer meets the size requirements set for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Consequently, the MSCI Pakistan Index will be included in the MSCI Frontier Markets Index as of the close of May 29, 2009 to coincide with the May 2009 Semi-Annual Index Review.

KSE-100 index breaches 6500 marks

KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) this morning seen upbeat and positive resulted in a handsome gain of 200 points, breaching the 6500 psychological barriers. Sources said the market today briskly trading saw the index soon shooting up first by 150 points and then gradually added another 50 points breaching 6500 marks.Analysts said that the market is seen behaving positive since the restoration of chief justice and political parties heading towards conciliation and amity.

CFS financing at KSE sees 34% increase

KARACHI: CFS financing at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) has recorded a 34 percent rise.According to statistics released by KSE, Rs1.1 billion were invested at KSE through CFS financing this week which is 34 percent higher than previous week.The rate of interest on CFS after witnessing an increase of 1 percent stood at 14.95 percent.

KSE closes on negative note at weekend

KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) after witnessing a bull run during the last four session ended Friday on a negative note as KSE-100 Index lost 101 points to finish the day at 6340.Profit taking on last trading day of the week eroded some of the gains recorded in the past four days.Trade volume was registered at 220 million shares with OGDC emerging as volume leader which slipped Rs3.16 to close at Rs62.99.KSE-30 Index declined by 149 to close at 6,831.

Bulls gain strength at KSE, contribute 175 points

KARACHI: Bulls grew further strength at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), pushing the KSE-100 Index up by 175 points to 6,441.Stock market opened upbeat today and remained in the green zone throughout the session.Trade volume remained strong at 270 million shares.NIB Bank drew maximum activity which gained paisas 31 to close at Rs5.85.Market analysts foresee resistance ahead at the level of 6,500.

KSE’s upward march continues

KARACHI: Positive trend continued at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Wednesday where the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 127 points to close at 6,267.The announcement of financial results of National Bank of Pakistan fueled further investment at KSE, contributing fresh gains in the major Index. NBP closed at its upper circuit breaker today.Trade volume was registered at 230 million shares, showing an increase of 20 million compared to yesterday’s trade.NIB remained the star performer in terms of volume which gained paisas 16 to close at Rs5.44. KSE-30 Index advanced by 190 points to finish the day at 6,768.

Bull-run continues at KSE

KARACHI: The bull-run continues on the second day at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) as 100-Index further gained 75 points to close at 6138.53, dealers said.The turnover volume stood at 216.477 million shares as prices of124 recorded gains while 262 sustained losses and 15 remained unchanged.Analysts said that market was bullish in the morning with a positive sentiment. But, some profit taking took place which eroded values of leading scrip. However, Index remained in the positive zone on buying spree.The market capitalization was improved by Rs 16 billion to Rs 1.866 trillion. NIB Bank was the volume leader with a turnover of 21.347 million shares.

CJ’s restoration propels aggressive buying at KSE; Index up 313 points

KARACHI: The news of restoration of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry Monday brought back the investor confidence to Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), pushing the 100-Index up by 313 points to 6063.The Index crossed the psychological barrier of 6,000 points on the back of aggressive buying by the investors propelled by the government’s early morning decision of reinstating the judiciary sacked on November 3, 2007.The announcement of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani of restoring the deposed CJ and filing of review petition in the Supreme Court on Sharif brothers ineligibility cast away all the uncertainties that persisted in the previous months at KSE, dealers said.The trade volume was recorded at 210.06 million shares.Pakistan's market lost 58 percent of its value during 2008 due to economic turmoil, political uncertainty and incessant militant attacks, particularly in the troubled northwest.

KSE sustains 5,700 level at weekend

KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 Index at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Friday kept moving both sides of the fence during the session but managed to close 43 points up at 5,750.The share market opened in the green zone and kept seesawing throughout the session but managed to sustain the level of 57,00 at the weekend.Trade volume was recorded at 100 million shares. NIB generated maximum activity which gained 27 paisas to close at Rs4.83. KSE-30 Index gained 63 points to finish the day at 6,085.

KSE sustains 5,700 level at weekend

KSE sustains 5,700 level at weekend

KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 Index at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Friday kept moving both sides of the fence during the session but managed to close 43 points up at 5,750.The share market opened in the green zone and kept seesawing throughout the session but managed to sustain the level of 57,00 at the weekend.Trade volume was recorded at 100 million shares. NIB generated maximum activity which gained 27 paisas to close at Rs4.83. KSE-30 Index gained 63 points to finish the day at 6,085.

A three-peat for Wall Street's bulls

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks jumped Thursday, gaining for the third session in a row, as investors scooped up banks and other shares hit in a selloff that left the Dow at 12-year lows.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 240 points, or 3.5%, managing a three days of back-to-back gains for the first time since late January.
The S&P 500 (SPX) index gained 29 points, or 4%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 54 points, or 4%.
Although it's too soon to tell where stocks are going to go from here, the rally off the lows is nonetheless encouraging, said Dan Genter, president and CEO at RNC Genter Capital Management.

Bank of England creates £2bn of 'new' money

LONDON (ShareCast) - The Bank (TBHS - news) of England has successfully pumped almost £2bn of extra money into the financial system in the
hope it will convince banks will lend more money.
A complicated 'reverse auction' process attracted offers from commercial banks to sell £10.5bn worth of gilts, or government bonds, to the central bank, of which a fraction under £2bn was accepted.
This means the Bank of England has effectively started the printing presses as part of its £75bn programme of 'quantitative easing' to boost the British economy.
The idea is that it gets new money into the system and into the banks, which it hopes will then increase lending to cash-strapped companies and individuals.
There was disappointment earlier as the first of today's two auctions, conducted at midday and aimed at institutional investors such as pension funds, failed to attract any interest.
It's though that many of them chose to pass instructions to their brokers who acted on their behalf at the second auction to banks this afternoon.
Bidders were only interested in the 'competitive' portion of the auction, held between 2.15pm and 2.45pm, which allowed banks to put a price on their gilts. There was no interest in the 'non-competitive' part that committed bidders to the Bank's own price.
Today's action comes less than a week after the Bank of England confirmed it would begin a £75bn programme of asset purchases and that it had permission from chancellor Alistair Darling for another £75bn if needed.
It's the first time the policy has been tried in the UK and some are calling it the last throw of the dice to save the country from an even deeper recession.
Interest rates have already been slashed to their lowest in the central bank's 315-year history, leaving little room for further stimulus from rate cuts alone. Borrowing costs fell another half point this month and are down from 5% last October.
Auctions will now take place every Monday and Wednesday, with results published on the Friday.
It could take up to three months to carry out the programme, according to a statement from the Bank released last Thursday.
But the move has angered some. Ros Altmann, an independent policy adviser, explains that the plan to get the institutions selling gilts to invest the money in UK company debt instead, "is not going to happen!"
"Institutions will switch to overseas debt or top quality bonds, but will not put much into smaller companies who desperately need the funds," he says.
"Whoever is advising the government on this simply does not understand how institutional investors operate."

U.S. shares set to edge up after surge on Tuesday

U.S. shares are set to edge up further on Wednesday, building on the gains made in the previous session when they posted the biggest rise in four months.
* At 0928 GMT futures for the Dow Jones DJc1, S&P 500 SPc1 and Nasdaq NDc1 were up between 0.2 and 0.4 percent.
* U.S. Treasury secretary Tim Geithner will hold a briefing at 1700 GMT ahead of the weekend G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting.
* Also on Capitol Hill, Neel Kashkari, the interim assistant secretary of the Treasury for financial stability testifies on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
* Office supplies company Staples (SPLS.O) is expected to report lower fourth-quarter earnings as its U.S. small business customers grapple with the recession.
* Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will take a third-quarter delivery of newly developed 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan, a source said on Wednesday, amid talk the U.S. firm is developing a touch-screen PC. [ID:nTP374787]
* Crude oil inventories fell slightly last week, according to a Reuters poll. Data is due at 1430 GMT.
* New York prosecutors are investigating whether the early payment of bonuses at Merrill Lynch last year gave the bank's traders an incentive to mark down the value of their trading positions in the last days of December, the Financial Times said, citing people familiar with the probe. * Financials led a massive rally on Tuesday, with major indexes jumping off 12-year lows after Citigroup's (C.N) chief executive, Vikram Pandit, stated in a memo to staff that the bank was profitable in the first two months of 2009.
* The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 5.8 percent; the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX climbed 6.4 percent; the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC jumped 7.1 percent. (Reporting by Brian Gorman; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Bears grow stronger at KSE; erode 86 points

KARACHI: Bears grew stronger at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Monday, taking away 86 more points from the benchmark KSE-100 Index which closed at 5,662 level.Today’s trade began in red zone and the selling pressure continued throughout the session.Trade volume was recorded at 48 million shares, lowest since December 2008.NIB registered highest volume which slipped paisas 25 to close at Rs4.85. KSE-30 Index finished the day 94 points down to 5,908.

Asian shares down after more bad news on Wall Street

TOKYO: Asian stocks tumbled early Monday on the back of Wall Street's losing streak as gloom deepened over the global economy and the health of major banks. Tokyo was down 3.2 percent by lunch and Sydney lost 3.0 percent by midday. Hong Kong opened 2.3 percent lower and Chinese shares were down 1.0 percent. Asian shares started the week on the downbeat note amid worries about the health of large US banks and broader fears over the global economy."The US economy is in the worst shape it's been for probably 50 or 60 years, so it's hard for equities to rally." The Dow has dropped 19.5 percent so far this year while Japan's Nikkei is down 17 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is off almost 13 percent. Investors were disappointed by news of a 6.2 percent contraction in the US economy in the fourth quarter of last year that was far worse than the earlier government estimate of a 3.8 percent decline.In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 hit the lowest intra-day level since December 2003. "Uncertainty is driving the market right now," Man Financial broker Anthony Anderson said. "There's uncertainty about the economy and about what the US government is going to do about the problems." Mining giant Rio Tinto was one of the hardest hit stocks, sliding 6.6 percent on fears its 19.5 billion US dollar tie-up with Chinese state-owned firm Chinalco may not go ahead. Rival BHP Billiton lost four percent. Elsewhere in the region, Seoul fell 3.5 percent, Taipei shed 1.75 percent, Manila slipped 0.3 percent and Kuala Lumpur declined 0.5 percent.

Bearish trend continues at KSE; KSE down 40 points

KARACHI: Selling pressure continued at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) on Friday as the KSE-100 Index closed 40 points down to 5,748.Trade activities remained thin on the last trading day of the week as the trade volume was recorded at 69 million shares, which is lowest in three months.OGDC led the volume leaders which slipped paisas 43 to close at Rs56.60.Market analysts say the market activities will continue to remain affected until the political uncertainties persist in the country.

O'Shaughnessy sees big upside, S&P 500 at 900

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks are trading at compelling prices after their plunge to 12-year lows this week and could rally 25 percent by the end of the year, said Jim O'Shaughnessy, a well-known investor on Wall Street.
U.S. stocks, as measured by the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX, are likely to return after inflation 7.3 percent per year from now through 2019, said O'Shaughnessy, author of the best seller, "What Works on Wall Street."
A rising savings rate and an improved housing market, while not completely healed, point to brighter times ahead in the U.S. economy, O'Shaughnessy told Reuters in an interview.
"I do think that as all that coalesces, you see a good chance for the S&P 500 (at) 900 out of the year. What are we right now? 713? That could be a very nice rally," he said, in reference to Wednesday's closing level for the S&P 500.
O'Shaughnessy, who makes investment decisions based on the quantitative analysis of 10,000 stocks and their prices over the past five decades, said the recent carnage in stocks only heightens what to expect over the next five to 10 years.
A review of the 12 worst 10-year rolling periods since 1926 shows that from the bottom, there were no negative returns over the next decade. The first year out, stocks returned 25 percent; after three years, 11 percent; and after five years, almost 13.5 percent, O'Shaughnessy said.
Following are more of O'Shaughnessy's views and opinions on the state of the financial markets:
HAVE U.S. STOCKS BOTTOMED?
"The problem with today is everybody's fighting the 'Where's the bottom?' fight. If you try to keep a relatively longer-term perspective, which is three to five years, you get shouted out ... From our point of view the market is even more compelling than it was when we spoke at the beginning of the year.
"Yeah, we could go down some more here in the short term, but it only makes the ultimate valuation more and more compelling.
"We're going to have a rotten jobs (report) on Friday. We're going to have other bad news, and you just look at the market in that light as a discounting mechanism.
"Is it easy? Of course not. It's horrible. You look at the day to day in the market, and you shake your head and think, 'Well this is, of course, why there is that thing called the equity risk premium.'"
WHAT ARE YOU BUYING, OR NOT BUYING?
"Kind of for the first time, across all sectors. We're not in a situation where we're really super-favoring any one sector. I would say we have notched up our buying of consumer discretionary .GSPD. It makes some sense to me. A couple of months ago, we had all the deep discount -- dollar stores and that kind of stuff -- now we are starting to see it broaden out a little bit.
"We're kind of neutral, with the exception of consumer discretionary. We're buying every sector. Now our financials have gone down (in our portfolios), we got stopped out of the bigger ones, because one of our criteria is you got to have positive cash flow.

Sri Lankan team attack also rocks bourses

KARACHI: Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) along with the other two stock exchanges of the country rocked by the Sri Lankan team attack this morning in Lahore went nose-dive, as the investors in great panic sidelined from business and seen glued with the TV channels, which continued pouring horrifying details of the gory incident for hours.Following the terror incident in Lahore today, KSE opened down by 60 points and on one occasion KSE-100 index was seen eroded by 150 points plummeting the index to 5500 points.Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) being the epicenter of the terror attack felt the similar shock, which saw the index in initial trading shed by over 30 points to peg at 1535 points, while in Islamabad bourse was no exception.

Asian shares down after more bad news on Wall Street

TOKYO: Asian stocks tumbled early Monday on the back of Wall Street's losing streak as gloom deepened over the global economy and the health of major banks. Tokyo was down 3.2 percent by lunch and Sydney lost 3.0 percent by midday. Hong Kong opened 2.3 percent lower and Chinese shares were down 1.0 percent. Asian shares started the week on the downbeat note amid worries about the health of large US banks and broader fears over the global economy."The US economy is in the worst shape it's been for probably 50 or 60 years, so it's hard for equities to rally." The Dow has dropped 19.5 percent so far this year while Japan's Nikkei is down 17 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng is off almost 13 percent. Investors were disappointed by news of a 6.2 percent contraction in the US economy in the fourth quarter of last year that was far worse than the earlier government estimate of a 3.8 percent decline.In Australia, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 hit the lowest intra-day level since December 2003. "Uncertainty is driving the market right now," Man Financial broker Anthony Anderson said. "There's uncertainty about the economy and about what the US government is going to do about the problems." Mining giant Rio Tinto was one of the hardest hit stocks, sliding 6.6 percent on fears its 19.5 billion US dollar tie-up with Chinese state-owned firm Chinalco may not go ahead. Rival BHP Billiton lost four percent. Elsewhere in the region, Seoul fell 3.5 percent, Taipei shed 1.75 percent, Manila slipped 0.3 percent and Kuala Lumpur declined 0.5 percent.