10,784
July 22, 2008
The Karachi Stock market opened up and stayed positive all day, closing at 10,784. The market rose in anticipation of the Finance Minister’s visit this afternoon . He announced that the EMOF would be Rs.20 billion and would be managed by NIT. Also mentioned that the Govt. would work with the SBP to have a balanced monetary policy and promised that its net borrowing from the SBP would be kept at zero. Along with the expected Saudi oil payment facility, there seems to be enough positive news to stabilize the market at current levels. The next upward resistance is 11,100.
News : The government has capped the profit/margin of oil marketing companies (OMCs) and dealers on oil sale at July 1, 2008 level, and constituted a committee to work out some methodology to give relief to the consumers. Acting Secretary, Petroleum, G A Sabri, announced government decision of capping OMCs’ and dealers’ profit/margin here at a press conference.He said that OMCs and dealers’ profit/margin capping would give a benefit of Rs 7.5 billion to the consumers, per annum, in oil prices….the government had also reached an agreement with refineries, which provides that the latter, as key player of the oil sector, would go for expansion in their production capacity to help the country meet its growing energy demand. He said the committee would decide the issue of deemed duty–a protection given to the refineries under exiting oil pricing formula…. Aaj News
Saudi Arabia is in talks to allow Pakistan to defer payments for crude oil sales during the current fiscal year, Pakistan’s de facto finance minister Naveed Qamar said on Tuesday."We are in talks with Saudi Arabia about the oil facility and there will be an announcement soon from Saudi Arabia," Qamar told an audience at the Karachi Stock Exchange, where he was visiting to reassure investors after a precipitous fall in share prices… Aaj News
Finance Minister Naveed Qamar announced here on Tuesday that Rs 20 billion ‘Equity Market Opportunity Fund’ (EMOF) would be launched within the current week. Addressing members of Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), the minister said that the Rs 20 billion EMOF would be chanelled through National Investment Trust (NIT)…He said that the government has reduced borrowing from State Bank. The government would either not borrow, or borrow negligibly from the central bank, he said, adding that the government would use other sources to generate funds. He announced that the government would re-launch the privatization programme, after approval by the Cabinet, to generate more funds. The minister said that oil price hike was an international issue. He noted that the government was facing a challenging situation due to unprecedented rise in oil prices. He observed that the monetary policy should not be further tightened despite inflationary pressure. "We want to maintain a balance between monetary and fiscal policies in co-ordination with SBP, and boost exports", he said… Aaj News
Market Low : 10,374.30 High : 10,795.71
Market Close : 10,784.81 – 410.51 points up
