Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) managed to close in green after a volatile session on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 5.87 points (+0.01 percent) to close at 42,093.80 points.
The market opened on a sharp positive note and hit the day high during the first two-hour trading. The market remained in green for most of the day; however, profit-taking activity brought the market in the red during the last half-an-hour trading. Still, the market managed to recover and turned to positive again.
The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 280.54 points, showing an intraday high of 42,336.44 and a low of 42,055.90 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 55.74 points (+0.20 percent) to close at 27,825.39 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 101.94 points (+0.51 percent) to close at 20,151.91 points.
A total of 372 companies traded shares in the stock exchange as compared to 380 a day earlier. Out of traded companies, shares of 169 closed up, shares of 181 closed down while shares of 22 companies remained unchanged. A total of 97 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index, out of which 49 closed up, 48 closed down.
The overall market volumes remained 256.22 million against 287.75 million shares a day earlier. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 147.37 million against 135.52 million shares a day earlier. The number of total trades increased by 5,248 to 119,006, while the value traded decreased to Rs9.3 billion from Rs10.18 billion a day earlier. Overall market capitalisation increased by Rs11.91 billion.
Among scrips, MLCF topped the volumes with 23.41 million shares, followed by FFL (17.09 million) and WTL (13.6 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included MLCF, FFL,WTL, BAFL and BIPL, which formed around 29 percent of total volumes.
In terms of rupee, RMPL remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs592.5 (+7.5 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,492.5. The runner-up remained NESTLE, the share price of which climbed up by Rs396.37 (+7.5 percent) to Rs5,681.38. KHYT remained the top loser in terms of rupee and witnessed a decrease of Rs59.62 (-7.5 percent) per share, closing at Rs735.38, followed by INDU, the share price of which fell by Rs54.65 (-5.81 percent) to close at Rs886.41 per share.
Automobile, cement, chemical and oil spaces saw massive selling while banking space closed with gains. Sectors contributing positively to the benchmark KSE-100 index included technology and communication (51.18 points), banks (46.24 points) and food and personal care products (39.11 points). The most points added to the index were by EFERT (42 points), followed by SYS (41 points), NESTLE (25 points), BAHL (20 points), and PKGS (19 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were oil & gas exploration companies (64 points), automobile assembler (26 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (19 points), tobacco (16 points), and oil & gas marketing companies (15 points). The most points taken off the index were by ENGRO (40 points), INDU (21 points), PPL and DAWH (18 points each) and OGDC (17 points).
A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the positive momentum continued at the PSX. “The KSE-100 index opened in green zone and continued to trade with positive sentiments throughout the trading session, reaching an intraday high of 248.41 points as investors opted to cherry pick strong fundamental stocks given the attractive valuation being offered in the market.”
It added that rally was observed in cement and IT sectors although profit taking was witnessed during the last half of the day. Investor participation remained healthy as decent volumes were recorded across the board, the report said.
PSX ends flat amid profit-taking in volatile session
