KARACHI
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned around on Wednesday after shedding 1,673 points during the last two sessions, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 164.61 points (+0.38 percent) to close at 43,042.96 points.
The PSX opened on a positive note and gained around 339 points during the first 15 minutes of the session amid the re-emergence of the appetite for the risk-linked assets.
The indices switched between the red and green territories later but remained in the positive zone for most part of the session. The last few minutes trading witnessed massive buying, which brought the benchmark index above the psychological level of 43,000 points.
The index moved in the green territory as international crude oil prices slipped due to some optimism in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which improved the investors’ confidence. Moreover, the Pakistani rupee remained almost flat against the US dollar during the day. Again, the gold prices dipped around two percent.
According to Aba Ali Habib Securities, a brokerage, the bullish rally stemmed from the excessive buying observed across the board in the midst of political uncertainty, coupled with the status quo maintained by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on the back of anticipation that the current rate could gradually tame the inflation rate. It added that international oil prices cooled down modestly in intra-day, which also boosted the investors’ confidence.
The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 638.19 points, showing an intraday low of 42,865.81 points and a high of 43,217.19 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 21.92 points (+0.07 percent) to close at 29,692.16 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 40.53 points (+0.19 percent) to close at 21,523.71 points.
A total of 353 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 155 closed up, shares of 168 closed down while shares of 30 companies remained unchanged. Out of 94 traded companies in the KSE-100 Index, 54 closed up and 34 closed down and six remained unchanged.
The overall market volumes decreased by 42.40 million to 183.71 million shares. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 10.77 million to 82.23 million shares. The number of total trades decreased by 23,456 to 90,660, while the value traded decreased by Rs1.05 billion to Rs6.07 billion. Overall, market capitalisation decreased by Rs1.10 billion.
Among scrips, GGL topped the volumes with 12.79 million shares, followed by PIBTL (12.53 million) and TPLP (11.14 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included GGL, PIBTL, TPLP, TELE and TPL, which formed around 32 percent of total volumes.
In terms of rupee, WYETH remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs83.99 (4.2 percent) per share, closing at Rs2,084. The runner-up was SAPT, the share price of which climbed up by Rs67.3 (6.99 percent) to Rs1,029.8. RMPL remained the top loser in terms of rupee after surging fir 12 consecutive sessions and witnessed a decrease of Rs138 (1.15 percent) per share, closing at Rs11,861, followed by PMPK, the share price of which declined by Rs44.37 (6.17 percent) to close at Rs675 per share.
The sectors taking the index towards north were technology & communication (75 points), fertilizer (63 points), oil & gas exploration companies (18 points), cement (13 points) and automobile parts & accessories (6 points). The most points added to the index were by SYS which contributed 48 points followed by EFERT (26 points), TRG (24 points), ENGRO (23 points) and MLCF (18 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were commercial banks (16 points), refinery (6 points), power generation & distribution and transport (5 points each) and textile composite (4 points). The most points taken off the index were by LUCK which stripped the index of 25 points followed by BAFL (13 points), BAHL (11 points), HMB (8 points) and PIBTL (5 points).
