BRIndex100 extends gains

Sentiments at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained positive Thursday. The market maintained its uptrend under the lead of blue chips. BRIndex100 gained 22.16 points or 0.52 percent to close at 4,293.24 points up from 4,271.08 points. BRIndex100 touched intraday high of 4,295.48 points and intraday low of 4,255.17 points. Volume at BRIndex100 was 215.362 million as compared to 165.155 million Wednesday.
BRIndex30 increased by 87.33 points or 0.41 percent to reach 21,605.89 points with a turnover of 173.961 million. WorldCall was the most traded company in BRIndex30 with a volume of 55.082 million. The benchmark KSE-100 index posted an increase of 224.58 points to 40,371.31 points compared to 40,146.73. With aggressive trading activity by investors, daily trading volumes surged to 239.587 million shares against 199.343 million shares traded Wednesday.
Analysts at JS Global said the market maintained its upward trend as flows in cement, steel, gas utilities kept investor sentiment intact. The market made an intraday low of -115pts and a high of +317pts to close positive at 40,371 points levels. On the news front, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has expressed optimism that the current account deficit may be contained to a manageable level in coming months due to recent measures taken to arrest the decline in foreign exchange reserves, they added.
The market capitalization increased by Rs 51 billion to Rs 8.513 trillion. Out of total 355 active scrips, some 202 closed positive, 135 negative while the value of 18 stocks remained unchanged. WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 55 million shares. It gained Re 0.01 to close at Rs 2.98. Dost Steels Ltd increased by Re 0.44 to Rs 10.30 with 18.95 million shares. TRG Pak Ltd. ranked third with 12.41 million shares to Rs 31.14, up by Re 0.32.
Bata (Pak) and Khyber Tobacco were the top gainers with Rs 76.71 and Rs 75.31, respectively to close at Rs 2,336.04 and Rs 1,581.63. J.D.W Sugar and United Brands were the top losers with Rs 13.48 and Rs 7.71, respectively to close at Rs 326.51 and Rs 396.04. BR Commercial Banks Index closed at 7,985.39 with a net positive change of 80.94 points or a percentage change of 1.02 and a total turnover of 19,471,800. BR Cement Index Closed at 5,132.90 with a net positive change of 151.14 points or a percentage change of 3.03 and a total turnover of 21,240,850.
BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 4,960.77 with a net negative change of -15.23 points or a percentage change of -0.31 and a total turnover of 10,808,610. BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 1,095.46 with a net positive change of 15.22 points or a percentage change of 1.41 and a total turnover of 69,567,500. BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 6,170.26 with a net negative change of -6.11 points or a percentage change of -0.1 and a total turnover of 12,656,100.
Analysts at Topline said that Pakistan equities continued their rally today with the KSE-100 index rolling up another two-twenty-five points or 0.6 percent ahead of the New Year where participants were busy dressing up their stocks for good year end closing rates. Newly-appointed federal minister on finance, Miftah Ismail further elaborated upon his agenda while stating that those who do not file their taxes should be treated as criminals, in a bid to widen the tax net.
Top index point contributors were MCB (+3.8%), LUCK (+3.5%), UBL (+1.8%), DGKC (+2.8%) & FCCL (+4%) adding 179pts, while PPL (-1.2%), ENGRO (-1.1%), HBL (-0.7%), OGDC (-0.6%) & PAEL (-4.2%) holding 84pts. Sector wise; Cements added 109pts, Banks 84pts, Textile 22pts, Refinery 19pts, whereas E&Ps held back 46pts, Fertilizer 32pts & Cable Goods 11pts.