KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) came to roaring life amid optimism over the upcoming budget for the next fiscal year, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 314.96 points (0.76 percent) to close at 41,667.94 points on Monday.
The market opened on a positive note and remained in the green throughout the session, as investors’ sentiment remained high due to positive statements from government functionaries about the upcoming budget 2023-24.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the investors at PSX that the government is determined to present an investment-friendly budget. This will help attract more companies and investments in Pakistan and put the country’s economy on a positive trajectory soon, claimed the minister.
The market gained over 250 points during the first half an hour trading and later turned to profit-taking. However, bulls returned during the last 90-minute trading, taking the index to hit the day-high just before the close.
The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 306.11 points, showing an intraday high of 41,681.68 points and a low of 41,375.57 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 237.93 points (+0.85 percent) to close at 27,937.46 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 232.54 points (+1.15 percent) to close at 20,279.19 points.
The overall market volumes increased by 45.63 million to 145.18 million shares against 99.55 million shares a session earlier. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 81.53 million against 67.59 million a session earlier, showing an increase of 13.94 million shares.
Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 16.78 million shares, followed by SNGP (9.75 million) and PPL (9.43 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included WTL, SNGP, PPL, OGDC and PRL, which formed over 34 percent of total volumes.
A total of 320 companies traded shares in the stock exchange as compared to 295 a session earlier. Out of traded companies, shares of 183 closed up, shares of 106 closed down while shares of 31 companies remained unchanged. A total of 93 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 89 a session earlier, out of which shares of 56 companies closed up, 31 closed down and six remained unchanged.
The number of total trades increased by 23,105 to 80,840 against 57,735 a session earlier, while the value traded increased by Rs1.38 billion to Rs4.72 billion.
In terms of rupee, MARI remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs31.25 (2.05 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,554.17. The runner-up remained COLG, the share price of which climbed up by Rs28.87 (+1.92 percent) to Rs1,528.87. BATA remained the top loser in terms of rupee and witnessed a decrease of Rs63.5 (-3.75 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,630.5, followed by NESTLE, the share price of which fell by Rs50.02 (-0.76 percent) to close at Rs6,489.98 per share.
The sectors taking the index towards north were oil & gas exploration companies (175 points), oil & gas marketing companies (77 points), power generation & distribution (30 points), chemical (21 points), and technology & communication (19 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained PPL (66 points), OGDC (56 points), PSO (44 points), POL (30 points), and HUBC (24 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (22 points), fertilizer (20 points), commercial banks (5 points), cement (4 points), and real estate investment trust (2 points). The companies which deprived the index of most of the points included UBL (34 points), DAWH (21 points), ENGRO (13 points), LUCK (11 points), and FFC (9 points).
