Stock market recoups some losses after yesterday's crash
A staggering sum of Rs180 billion was wiped off the market capitalisation yesterday.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – As confusion and uncertainty surrounds potential investors due to several persisting factors, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) could not recover much on Tuesday after crashing yesterday by 1,222 points or about 3pc, representing the highest single day decline in 14 months.
The market could generate only 76.08 points or 0.19pc, and reach 40,485.46 points as of 12.54pm. The benchmark KSE 100-Share Index opened at 40,474.63, after closing yesterday at 40,409.38.
A staggering sum of Rs180 billion was wiped off the market capitalisation at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in a single day yesterday.
The KSE 100 index came crashing down as investors offloaded stocks as the rising prices of commodities eroded profits.
The bourse declined 1221.55 points, or a decrease of 3.02 percent to 40,409.38 points. The indices remained in the red for most of the day as the market shed over 1300 points in intra-day trading.
Investors were rattled over the inflation figures for January which came out at an alarming 12-year high of 14.6pc.
They were also spooked by uncertainty over the decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Pakistan status to be decided later this month and the country’s ability to pull itself out of the grey list.
Importantly, the investors have also strongly noticed shortfall in revenue collection by about Rs350 billion as review talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have begun for the release of its third tranche under the $6 billion facility.
On political front, unsettled political wrangling among the coalition partners of the government also hit confidence of the investors.
Every year the Chinese New Year celebrations bring supply chains to a halt as factories in China shut down and workers head home for the holidays. This year, however, the outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus during these holidays has disrupted movements, with the Chinese authorities extending the shutdown to Feb 12 in most provinces.
Some traders and businessmen in Pakistan said that loading of goods in China has come to a halt.
Most industries that depend on raw materials imported from China usually build stocks to last them through the holiday closure, but in some cases at least those stocks are now running low and businesses are left wondering when normal imports might resume.
Asian stocks recover some losses
Asian stocks bounced on Tuesday with Chinese markets reversing some of their previous plunge amid official efforts to calm virus fears, although investor sentiment remained fragile with oil near 13-month lows.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.5%, led by gains in South Korea and Australia. Japan’s Nikkei edged 0.6% higher.
China’s markets steadied in choppy trade after anxiety over the spreading coronavirus erased some $400 billion in market value from Shanghai’s benchmark index on Monday as markets resumed from the Lunar New Year holiday.
The Shanghai Composite gained 1.2%, while the blue-chip CSI300 rebounded 2.5%, one day after a nearly 8% slide on Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.0%.
Despite the relative market calm on Tuesday, the outbreak continued to generate concerning headlines with Hong Kong reporting its first coronavirus death, the second fatality outside mainland China with the total death toll now 427.
“Chinese authorities have been providing a lot of support for the financial markets. There’s a level of assurance that the rout would not be allowed to go on much further than necessary,” Christy Tan, head of markets strategy for Asia at National Australia Bank in Singapore.
“This could prove to be temporary if we see worse news or little sign of reaching containment of the (coronavirus) situation,” she added.
In an effort to stop the plunge, China’s state-backed Securities Times published an op-ed on Tuesday to call on investors not to panic.
That followed moves by China’s securities regulator on Monday to limit short selling and stop mutual fund managers selling shares unless they face investor redemptions, according to Reuters.
China’s central bank has flooded the economy with cash while trimming some key lending rates, but analysts suspect more will have to be done to offset the economic fallout from the virus.
“Given the extent of the shutdowns in China as well as the rapid rise in the virus that is likely to continue through March or April, a significant hit to China and regional growth is very likely,” said JPMorgan economist Joseph Lupton.
“We would assume that in addition to bridging any funding stresses, fiscal policies will need to be ramped up to support growth once the contagion gets under control.”
European markets were expected to follow suit, with major stock futures trading up around 0.4-0.5%.
Elsewhere, E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, extending a 0.7% bounce overnight, even after disappointing earnings results from Alphabet Inc.
Wall Street had taken comfort from a surprisingly solid reading of U.S. manufacturing with the Dow ending Monday with a rise of 0.5%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq 1.3%.
“This is just a typical reversal after a big fall. Vague concerns about Wuhan virus are still weighing on U.S. stocks,” said Masanari Takada, cross asset strategist at Nomura Securities in Tokyo.
U.S. factory activity rebounded in January after contracting for five straight months amid a surge in new orders, offering hope that a prolonged slump in business investment has probably bottomed out.
The upbeat report nudged Treasury yields up from deep lows and gave the U.S. dollar a modest lift.
The dollar firmed to 108.83 yen from an overnight low of 108.30, while the euro faded a fraction to $1.1059 but remained well within recent snug ranges.
Against a basket of currencies, the dollar bounced back to 97.826 from a trough of 97.406.
The offshore yuan gained 0.3% to 6.9935 yuan per dollar , in line with rebounds in Chinese shares and holding above its one-month low of 7.0230 per dollar hit in European trade on Monday.
The Aussie dollar rose 0.4% to $0.6718, pulling away from the 10-1/2-year low of $0.6670 touched in October, after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its main cash rate at a record low of 0.75%.
In the commodity markets, oil futures staged a modest rebound, one day after slumping to the lowest in more than a year on worries about the impact of the coronavirus on demand for fuel.
Brent crude added 0.8% to $54.90 a barrel, while U.S. crude gained 1.1% to $50.67.
A swath of commodities from copper to iron ore joined oil in the dumpster amid fears the drag on Chinese industry and travel would sharply curb demand for fuel and resources.
The Dalian Commodity Exchange’s most-traded iron ore futures contract, expiring in May, slumped as much as 6.1% to 569.50 yuan ($81.12) a tonne, its lowest since Nov. 12.
Spot gold was off at $1,572.41 per ounce, from a top of $1.591.46, as the dollar firmed and safe haven demand waned a little.
