KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended gains for the third straight session on Wednesday, with the KSE-100 Index gaining 323.03 points (+0.69 percent) to breach the 47,000 points level and close at 47,079.83 points.
The market opened on a positive note and remained positive throughout the session. The indices maintained their upward momentum amid improved economic indicators.
The rupee’s appreciation over the past few weeks has given investors a sense of confidence. Moreover, 10 percent duty on Afghanistan transit trade is going to discourage any kind of smuggling which used to take place through Afghan transit and the step will further empower local industry.
On the other hand, the trade deficit improved to $1.49 billion in September compared to $2.16 billion in August, showing an improvement of 31.13 percent on a month-on-month basis.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 450.71 points, showing an intraday high of 47,199.50 points and an intraday low of 46,748.79 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 157.46 points (+0.50 percent) to close at 31,585.67 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 76.54 points (+0.33 percent) to close at 22,959.29 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 5.11 million to 100.28 million shares against 95.17 million shares traded a session earlier. The overall market volumes increased by 117.06 million shares to 330.25 million shares against 213.19 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 150.53 million shares, followed by PRL (12.98 million), and BIPL (11.21 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included WTL, PRL, BIPL, CNERGY, and HBL, which formed over 57 percent of total volumes.
A total of 340 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 326 a session earlier, out of which shares of 171 closed up, shares of 133 closed down while shares of 36 companies remained unchanged.
A total of 91 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 95 in the previous session, out of which share price of 48 companies closed up, 36 closed down and seven remained unchanged.
The number of total trades increased by 6,127 to 105,989 from 99,862 a session earlier, while the value traded increased by Rs1.21 billion to Rs7.30 against Rs6.09 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, COLG remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs45 (+3.29 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,413.21. The runner-up remained MEHT, the share price of which climbed up by Rs23.63 (+4.56 percent) to Rs541.63. BATA remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs24 (-1.41 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,675 followed by PMRS, the share price of which fell by Rs21.37 (-4.1 percent) to close at Rs500 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained commercial banks (273 points), fertilizers (46 points), chemical (33 points), power generation & distribution (21 points), and cement (9 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained HBL (98 points), MCB (69 points), UBL (47 points), EFERT (41 points), and COLG (32 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were oil & gas exploration companies (37 points), technology & communication (20 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (7 points), and oil & gas marketing companies and insurance (5 points each). The major companies depriving the index of points remained SYS (20 points), PPL (13 points), ENGRO (11 points), MARI (10 points), and OGDC (9 points).
