KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued surging to new highs for the third straight session and closed above the 55,000 points level for the first time in its history on Friday.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index closed the session at 55,391.36 points with a gain of 1,129.94 points (+2.08 percent). This 2.08 percent increase has been the biggest day-on-day rise in both percentage and point terms since July 03, 2023, when the markets reopened after the Eid holidays and welcomed the news of a $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that saved the country from a sovereign debt default. Overall, the benchmark index gained 2,268.33 points during the week.
The main reason for the rally was the reduction in Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) yields, which had prompted domestic buying. Yields coming down are a crucial indicator to determine if interest rates are about to ease up. Meanwhile, high yields are often viewed as a sign of a tighter key policy rate, the effect of which can be sluggish economic growth and therefore lower equity returns.
The investor sentiment remained high amid expectations of a successful International Monetary Fund (IMF) review. Moreover, investors continue to cheer the improved economic indicators. The latest workers’ remittances data released by the central bank during the day showed that the remittances increased by 11.54 percent on a month-on-month basis in October to $2.46 billion.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 1,134.58 points, showing an intraday high of 55,506.32 points and an intraday low of 54,371.74 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 648.13 points (+1.76 percent) to close at 36,794.78 points. The All-Share Index breached its all-time high, closing at its highest level in 6.5 years. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 491.02 points (+1.82 percent) to close at 27,003.87 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 113.35 million to 372.31 million shares against 258.96 million shares a session earlier. This has been the highest trading volume since June 16, 2021. The overall market volumes increased by 158.21 million shares to 640.84 million shares against 482.63 million shares traded a session earlier. This has been the highest volume since July 01, 2021.
Among scrips, CNERGY topped the volumes with 103.46 million shares, followed by HUMNL (42.41 million) and PRL (31.06 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included CNERGY, HUMNL, PRL, KEL, and WTL, which formed over 35 percent of total volumes.
A total of 376 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 371 companies a session earlier, out of which shares of 256 closed up, shares of 103 companies closed down while shares of 17 companies remained unchanged. A total of 97 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 100 a session earlier, out of which share prices of 77 companies closed up, 17 closed down and three remained unchanged.
The number of total trades increased to 228,635 from 176,953 a session earlier, while the value traded increased by Rs1.03 billion to Rs21.15 billion against Rs20.12 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, PAKT remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs49 (+5.47 percent) per share, closing at Rs945. The runner-up remained ARPL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs30.86 (+6.73 percent) to Rs489.31. RMPL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs36.67 (-0.46 percent) per share, closing at Rs7,930, followed by GADT, the share price of which fell by Rs8.9 (-4.24 percent) to close at Rs201 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained power generation & distribution (222 points), fertilizer (175 points), commercial banks (165 points), cement (117 points), and oil & gas exploration companies (111 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained HUBC (185 points), EFERT (81 points), OGDC (64 points), MCB (60 points), and MEBL (53 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were property (4 points), textile spinning (2 points), and close–end mutual fund (1 point). The major companies depriving the index of points remained UNITY (6 points), JVDC (4 points), BAFL and PABC (3 points each), and GADT (2 points).
