KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) bounced back after facing massive selling for two days, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 1,015.82 points (+1.59 percent) to close at 65,064.26 points on Thursday.
The market opened on a positive note and remained in the green throughout the session. The KSE-100 gained on value-hunting as investors cherry-picked holdings. The benchmark index lost 1,745 points this week, which has now been trimmed to around 730 points.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) team and Pakistani authorities are set to hold economic review discussions from March 14 to 18 for the final review of the $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA), raising concerns regarding the stringent measures the Fund may require.
Investors are also bracing for the upcoming monetary policy decision on March 18, wherein the market is somewhat divided on the appropriate action for the State Bank of Pakistan.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 1,125.84 points, showing an intraday high of 65,205.81 points and an intraday low of 64,079.97 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 703.15 points (+1.63 percent) to close at 43,262.91 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 652.50 points (+2.09 percent) to close at 31,259.61 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 136.55 million, while the overall market volumes remained 315.25 million shares. Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 42.75 million shares, followed by CNERGY (36.11 million) and KOSM (19.58 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included WTL, CNERGY, KOSM, KEL, and PRL, which formed over 43 percent of total volumes.
A total of 333 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of which shares of 247 closed up, shares of 70 companies closed down while shares of 16 companies remained unchanged. A total of 92 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index, out of which share prices of 82 companies closed up and 10 companies closed down.
The number of total trades remained 129,982, while the value traded remained Rs10.49 billion. In terms of rupee, MARI remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs72.51 (+3.08 percent) per share, closing at Rs2,430.11. The runner-up remained NESTLE, the share price of which climbed up by Rs69.12 (+0.93 percent) to Rs7,500. ISIL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs90 (-7.5 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,110, followed by PMPK, the share price of which fell by Rs18.6 (-2.55 percent) to close at Rs710.1 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained oil & gas exploration companies (267 points), technology and communication (95 points), cement (86 points), oil & gas marketing companies (78 points), refinery (76 points), fertilizer (58 points), power generation and distribution companies (54 points), commercial banks (44 points), investment bank/ investment companies/ securities companies (38 points), and food & personal care products (37 points).
Major companies adding points to the index remained OGDC (60 points), PPL (52 points), MARI (34 points), MEBL and PSO (31 points each), SYS (25 points), HUBC (23 points), ATRL (19 points), DAWH (18 points) and LUCK (15 points).
The major sector taking the index towards south remained insurance, which deprived the index of one point. Major companies depriving the index of points remained BAHL (21 points), UBL (7 points), MCB, ISIL and PKGS (5 points each).
