ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s stock market’s performance has posted a boom-and-bust situation during FY2022 due to geopolitical tensions, especially Russian-Ukraine conflict and domestic political uncertainty.
According to Pakistan Economic Survey (PES), during July 2021 to March 2022, the benchmark KSE-100 index declined from 47,356 points to 44,929 points. During this period, the index closed at its highest point of 48,112 points on August 23, 2021, as of March 31, 2022, number of listed companies stood at 532, with total market capitalization of Rs 7,583 billion.
The turnover in shares reached its peak in September 2021, indicating that investors were actively investing in the market. However, the market activity slowed down in February and March 2022 due to geopolitical and domestic political uncertainty. The major development of this year in the equity market is the issuance of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), the survey said.
During July-March FY2022, five companies issued shares through IPOs on the main board of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), while two companies were listed on the newly introduced Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) Board.
The total number of companies listed in PSX till March 2022 stood at 532 whereas the total listed capital with PSX increased from Rs 1,442.64 billion in FY2021 to Rs 1,502.13 billion during the first nine months of current fiscal year.
Five new companies were listed with the PSX during July-March 2022 as compared to five companies in the fiscal year 2020- 21. During July-March FY2022, a total of Rs 714.3 billion was wiped out from the market capitalization of the PSX.
Meezan Bank Limited and Mari Petroleum Company Limited share prices have a positive growth whereas decline in the share price of Pak Tobacco is partly explained by the negative growth of 28 percent in the Tobacco industry. The share price of Nestle has dropped as food and personal care products companies posted a modest growth of 1.2 percent, the survey added.
