KSE-100 gains 495 points, but closes shy of 40,000

After witnessing massive selling pressure since the start of the week, the KSE-100 Index posted a decent recovery, gaining 495.44 points on Thursday. However, the gain was not enough to take the benchmark index past the key 40,000-point barrier.

At close, the KSE-100 Index settled with a gain of 1.26%, finishing at 39,838.33.

The stock market has felt the effects of economic turbulence in the country with the KSE-100 closing at a 26-month low prior to Thursday’s positive finish.

The index opened positive and posted gradual gains throughout the session as investors looked to take positions on attractive valuations.

A report by Capital Stake said equity markets around the globe showed a mixed trend.

“Out of the total scrips traded, 44.50% belonged to KSE 100 scrips. Cnergyico PK Limited (CNERGY -0.26%), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL +2.08%) and TPL Properties Limited (TPLP +4.04%) were top contributors to the volume chart,” it said in its post-market comment.

Sectors helping the benchmark KSE 100 index end higher included oil and gas exploration sector (92.38 pts), technology and communication sector (65.68 pts) and banking sector (64.51 pts).

Meanwhile, Lucky Cement Limited, in a notification to the PSX, stated that it has completed the construction and installation work for Brownfield Expansion of an additional line of 3.15 million tons per annum at the manufacturing site at Pezu.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 194.5 million from 166 million on Wednesday. The value of shares traded increased to Rs5.49 billion from Rs4.05 billion recorded in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 17.41 million shares, followed by Pak Refinery with 13.02 million shares, and TPL Properties with 10.1 million shares.

Shares of 329 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 238 registered an increase, 79 recorded a fall, and 12 remained unchanged.