KARACHI
Profit-taking activity at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued for the second day on Friday amid reports of an upcoming mini-budget, with the KSE-100 Index losing 198.98 points (-0.44 percent) to close at 45,067.98 points.
The market opened on a positive note and hit the day-high within the first 20-minute trading. However, the investors preferred to cash in their gains, bringing down the indices. There are reports that the government is likely to introduce a mini-budget as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sought a plan for better tax collection from property and agriculture sectors. These reports held the indices steady throughout the session.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 445.28 points showing an intraday high of 45,488.45 points and an intraday low of 45,043.17 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 31.61 points (-0.10 percent) to close at 30,329.14 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 0.33 points (+0.00 percent) to close at 22,315.79 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 112.33 million shares to 112.89 million shares against 225.22 million shares traded a session earlier. The overall market volumes decreased by 221.67 million shares to 267.51 million shares against 489.18 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, TELE topped the volumes with 31.11 million shares, followed by WTL (20.05 million) and KEL (19.45 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included TELE, WTL, KEL, UNITY, and BIPL, which formed around 38 percent of total volumes.
A total of 321 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 360 a session earlier, out of which shares of 98 closed up, shares of 194 closed down while shares of 29 companies remained unchanged.
A total of 96 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against the same number a session earlier, out of which shares of 19 companies closed up, 70 closed down and seven remained unchanged. The number of total trades decreased by 69,806 to 115,195 against 185,001 trades in the previous session, while the value traded decreased by Rs7.76 billion to Rs6.78 billion.
In terms of rupee, COLG remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs100.29 (+7.5 percent) per share, closing at R1,437.52. The runner-up remained PAKT, the share price of which climbed up by Rs30 (+4.32 percent) to Rs725. UPFL remained the top loser in terms of rupee and witnessed a decrease of Rs901 (-3.93 percent) per share, closing at Rs22,000, followed by PRET, the share price of which fell by Rs33.98 (-6.68 percent) to close at Rs475.01 per share.
The sectors taking the index towards south were oil & gas exploration companies (67 points), technology & communication (40 points), cement (36 points), fertilizer (33 points), and commercial banks (24 points). The major companies depriving the index of points remained ENGRO (27 points), OGDC (25 points), PPL (23 points), HBL (21 points), and TRG (20 points).
The sectors taking the index towards north were chemical (65 points), power generation & distribution (14 points), tobacco (11 points), food & personal care products (8 points), and pharmaceuticals (5 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained COLG (68 points), MEBL (27 points), UNITY (12 points), and HUBC and PAKT (11 points each).
