KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended gains for the fourth session in a row amid optimism over the upcoming budget for the next fiscal year as well as IMF loan revival, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 219.25 points (0.52 percent) to close at 42,142.71 points on Wednesday.
The market opened on a sharp positive note, breaching the 42,000 points threshold. The market remained in the green throughout the session, as investors’ sentiment remained high due to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement that the country will be able to finalise a critical loan deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this month. Moreover, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s assurance about an investment-friendly budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 kept the momentum high at the bourse.
Just like the previous session, the market turned towards profit-taking just after crossing the 42,000 points level and eroded all the gains within the first hour. However, active buying took the index up and bulls took it far behind the threshold.
The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 307.15 points, showing an intraday high of 42,231.63 points and a low of 41,924.48 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 171.27 points (+0.61 percent) to close at 28,272.65 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 171.17 points (+0.83 percent) to close at 20,596.95 points.
The overall market volumes increased by 91.71 million to 332.54 million shares against 240.83 million shares a session earlier. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 117.41 million against 122.49 million a session earlier, showing a decrease of 5.08 million shares.
Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 79.6 million shares, followed by TELE (16.58 million) and PIBTL (15.42 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included WTL, TELE, PIBTL, TPLP, and UNITY, which formed around 42 percent of total volumes.
A total of 343 companies traded shares in the stock exchange as compared to 330 a session earlier. Out of traded companies, shares of 198 closed up, shares of 119 closed down while shares of 26 companies remained unchanged. A total of 93 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against the same number of companies a session earlier, out of which shares of 59 companies closed up, 30 closed down and four remained unchanged.
The number of total trades increased by 8,427 to 126,490 against 118,063 a session earlier, while the value traded increased by Rs0.03 billion to Rs7.17 billion.
In terms of rupee, COLG remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs116.92 (7.5 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,675.86. The runner-up remained BHAT, the share price of which climbed up by Rs84.99 (+7.05 percent) to Rs1,289.99. SFL remained the top loser in terms of rupee for the second straight session and witnessed a decrease of Rs91.01 (-7.42 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,134, followed by PMPK, the share price of which fell by Rs35.22 (-7.07 percent) to close at Rs463.28 per share.
The sectors taking the index towards north were technology & communication (101 points), chemical (49 points), oil & gas exploration companies (36 points), oil & gas marketing companies (21 points), and food & personal care products (20 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained SYS (53 points), COLG (40 points), TRG (37 points), MARI (16 points), and UNITY (14 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were commercial banks (23 points), fertilizer (21 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (11 points), refinery (5 points), and power generation & distribution (4 points). The companies which deprived the index of most of the points included ENGRO (17 points), DAWH (13 points), MEBL (13 points), HUBC (8 points), and UBL (7 points).
