The benchmark KSE-100 Index gains by 661 points
KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned bullish on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 626.02 points (+1.44 percent) to close at 44,178.85 points.
The market opened on a positive note but moved in both directions during the first hour trading. Later, the market witnessed a bull-run; however, the 44,000 points threshold invited profit-taking at least twice during the intraday trading. The overall mood remained bullish and the stocks consolidated gains in the last 100 minutes trading while the benchmark index was well over 44,000 mark. The KSE-100 Index closed above the 44,000 level for the first time after a period of 14 months, as last time when the index crossed this threshold was May 6, 2022.
The market is giving bullish signals as the country is heading towards stability on the back of the optimism stemming from Pakistan narrowly escaping default after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced a staff-level agreement with Pakistan worth $3 billion.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said he is hopeful that the $3 billion nine-month bailout from the IMF would be approved by the lender’s board when it meets on July 12. The executive board of the IMF will meet on July 12 to review the $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan, the staff-level pact for which was finalised last week.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 662.63 points showing an intraday high of 44,212.77 points and an intraday low of 43,550.14 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 333.62 points (+1.13 percent) to close at 29,532.20 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 246.50 points (+1.14 percent) to close at 21,565.20 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 15.01 million to 166.23 million shares against 181.24 million shares a session earlier. The overall market volumes decreased by 53.36 million to 297.82 million shares against 351.18 million shares a session earlier.
Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 28.85 million shares, followed by PAEL (16.17 million) and PPL (14.13 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included WTL, PAEL, PPL, BAFL, and OGDC, which formed around 28 percent of total volumes.
A total of 332 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 325 a session earlier, out of which shares of 200 closed up, shares of 109 closed down while shares of 23 companies remained unchanged. A total of 96 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 94 a session earlier, out of which shares of 73 companies closed up, 22 closed down and one remained unchanged. The number of total trades decreased by 16,584 to 138,672 against 155,256 trades a session earlier, while the value traded increased by Rs0.52 billion to Rs12.46 billion.
In terms of rupee, MEHT remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs43.15 (+6.33 percent) per share, closing at Rs725. The runner-up remained SCL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs21.97 (+7.5 percent) to Rs314.86. PSEL remained the top loser in terms of rupee and witnessed a decrease of Rs52.12 (-6.44 percent) per share, closing at Rs756.68, followed by BATA, the share price of which fell by Rs34 (-1.9 percent) to close at Rs1,760 per share.
The sectors taking the index towards north were commercial banks (179 points), oil & gas exploration companies (120 points), fertilizer (82 points), cement (68 points), and power generation & distribution (63 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained ENGRO (71 points), HUBC (51 points), LUCK (48 points), and PPL and OGDC (41 points each).
The sectors taking the index towards south were miscellaneous (29 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (24 points), refinery (11 points), sugar & allied industries (4 points), and automobile parts & accessories (3 points). The major companies depriving the index of points remained PSEL (29 points), DAWH (23 points), SYS (13 points), ATRL (8 points), and JDWS (4 points).
