KARACHI
Continuing its bull run, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) hit yet another all-time high milestone of 59,000 points on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 186.51 points (+0.32 percent) to close at 59,086.35 points.
The market opened on a positive note and remained in the green territory throughout the session, albeit profit-taking eroded most of the gains of the day, specially in the second half. The rally was led by technology stocks in terms of volumes. Besides, some power companies and banking stocks also attracted investors’ interest and remained among the top performers volume-wise.
The ongoing bullish trend comes amid the country’s improved economic indicators and the interim government’s successful negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the first review, which will unlock $700 million in funding.
According to analysts, the market has maintained the momentum and the benchmark is projected to hit 75,000 points over the next 13 months in December 2024. The forecast is based on three major developments in the near future, including a potential cut in interest rate by seven percentage points to 15pc by the end of December 2024 from a record high of 22pc at present; general elections are expected to be held on time in February 2024; and the newly elected government would acquire a new and larger IMF loan programme to push the economy into a growth phase from the current stabilization phase.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 512.07 points, showing an intraday high of 59,502.28 points and an intraday low of 58,990.21 points.
Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 85.29 points (+0.22 percent) to close at 39,559.21 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 2.86 points (-0.01 percent) to close at 29,200.58 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 17.57 million to 289.17 million shares against 306.74 million shares a session earlier. The overall market volumes decreased by 10.83 million shares to 658.42 million shares against 669.25 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 66.81 million shares, followed by PIBTL (38.91 million) and TPLP (27.44 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included WTL, PIBTL, TPLP, KEL, and CNERGY, which formed over 57 percent of total volumes.
A total of 385 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 390 companies a session earlier, out of which shares of 164 closed up, shares of 202 companies closed down while shares of 19 companies remained unchanged.
A total of 98 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 98 a session earlier, out of which share prices of 43 companies closed up and 55 companies closed down.
The number of total trades decreased to 247,259 from 274,343 a session earlier, while the value traded decreased by Rs3.21 billion to Rs22.02 billion against Rs25.23 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, RMPL remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs161.31 (+1.56 percent) per share, closing at Rs10,482.35.
The runner-up remained HPL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs81.97 (+7.5 percent) to Rs1,174.89. UPFL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs500 (-2.17 percent) per share, closing at Rs22,500, followed by PRET, the share price of which fell by Rs24 (-5.65 percent) to close at Rs401 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained commercial banks (151 points), miscellaneous (49 points), fertilizer (49 points), glass & ceramics (37 points), and textile composite (31 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained HBL (80 points), FFC (46 points), MCB (45 points), SYS (41 points), and PSEL (36 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were cement (57 points), pharmaceuticals (20 points), refinery (17 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (12 points), and automobile assembler (11 points). The major companies depriving the index of points remained TRG (37 points), LUCK (27 points), MEBL (20 points), UNITY (12 points), and DAWH (10 points).
