KARACHI
\nPakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its bullish momentum and extended gains for the eighth consecutive session on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 334.27 points (+0.69 percent) to close at 48,474.54 points.
\nThe market opened on a positive note and remained in the green territory throughout the session. Overall, the benchmark index has gained 2,301.75 points in the last eight sessions. The rupee\u2019s consistent 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.
\nThe benchmark index traded in a range of 376.37 points, showing an intraday high of 48,516.64 points and an intraday low of 48,140.27 points, which was the previous close. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 239.01 points (+0.74 percent) to close at 32,372.15 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 192.12 points (+0.81 percent) to close at 23,589.68 points.
\nTotal volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 106.57 million to 275.94 million shares against 169.37 million shares traded a session earlier. The overall market volumes increased by 46.41 million shares to 396.46 million shares against 350.07 million shares traded a session earlier.
\nAmong scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 145.14 million shares, followed by PRL (18.14 million) and UNITY (15.95 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, PRL, UNITY, WTL, and PAEL, which formed around 51 percent of total volumes.
\nA total of 362 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 345 a session earlier, out of which shares of 194 closed up, shares of 142 closed down while shares of 26 companies remained unchanged. A total of 96 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 95 in the previous session, out of which share price of 59 companies closed up, 33 closed down and four remained unchanged.
\nThe number of total trades increased by 742 to 154,977 from 154,235 a session earlier, while the value traded decreased by Rs0.23 billion to Rs10.53 billion against Rs10.76 billion in the previous session.
\nIn terms of rupee, NESTLE remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs141.11 (+2.02 percent) per share, closing at Rs7,141.11. The runner-up remained PMPK, the share price of which climbed up by Rs35.56 (+7.5 percent) to Rs509.67. BATA remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs64.36 (-3.76 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,645.64, followed by IBFL, the share price of which fell by Rs8.79 (-3.37 percent) to close at Rs251.96 per share.
\nThe major sectors taking the index towards north remained fertilizer (107 points), power generation & distribution (76 points), oil & gas exploration companies (71 points), food & personal care products (27 points), and commercial banks (25 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained HUBC (52 points), FFC (43 points), ENGRO (39 points), PPL (35 points), and EFERT (29 points).
\nThe sectors taking the index towards south were engineering and pharmaceuticals (5 points each), synthetic & rayon and refinery (4 points each), and cable & electrical goods (2 points). The major companies depriving the index of points remained TRG (10 points), CHCC (7 points), BAHL and LUCK (5 points each), and IBFL (4 points).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its bullish momentum and extended gains for the eighth consecutive session on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 334.27 points (+0.69 percent) to close at 48,474.54 points. The market opened on a positive note and remained in the green territory throughout the session. Overall, the benchmark index has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-360985","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n