PSX remains green

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday largely traded in the positive zone, which can be attributed to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar statement that Pakistan will not seek debt restructuring from Paris Club and will fulfil all multilateral, international and bond payments, experts said.

The benchmark KSE-100 index increased by 126.39 points or 0.30 percent and closed at 42,211.64 points. During the session, the index hit 42,442.24 points intra-day high and 42,071.67 points intra-day low level.

Trading activities also improved as total daily volumes on ready counter increased to 240.194 million shares as compared to 313.348 million shares traded on last Friday while total daily traded value on ready counter increased to Rs 10.533 billion against previous session’s Rs 9.420 billion.

BRIndex100 gained 19.93 points or 0.47 percent to close at 4,257.66 points with total daily turnover of 221.421 million shares.

BRIndex30 surged by 291.4 points or 1.78 percent to close at 16,682.77 point with total daily trading volumes of 176.663 million shares.

The foreign investors also remained on the buying side with net fresh inflow of $7.118 million. Total market capitalization increased by Rs 13 billion to Rs 6.875 trillion. Out of total 336 active scrips, 161 closed in positive and 149 in negative while the value of 26 stocks remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 31.151 million shares and gained Rs 0.03 to close at Rs 1.63 followed by Pak Elektron that increased by Rs 1.20 to close at Rs 17.45 with 27.142 million shares. TRG Pak surged by Rs 7.29 to close at Rs 151.43 with 26.747 million shares.

Unilever Foods and Nestle Pakistan were the top gainers increasing by Rs 449.50 and Rs 100.00 respectively to close at Rs 25,949.50 and Rs 5,850.00 while Colgate Palmolive and Gatron Industries were the top losers declining by Rs 40.01 and Rs 30.50 respectively to close at Rs 2,059.99 and Rs 378.50.

An analyst at Topline Securities said that the KSE-100 Index largely traded in the positive zone during the trading session, which can be attributed to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar statement that Pakistan will not seek debt restructuring from Paris Club and will fulfil all multilateral, international and bond payments.

Major contribution to the index came from TRG, LOTCHEM, OGDC, PAEL and DAWH, as they cumulatively contributed 144 points to the index, on the flip side MEBL, EFERT, ENGRO, FCEPL and COLG lost value to weigh down on the index by 86 points.

BR Automobile Assembler Index gained 11.1 points or 0.12 percent to close at 9,097.85 points with total turnover of 641,768 shares.

BR Cement Index increased by 47.11 points or 1.01 percent to close at 4,695.31 points with 21.513 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index decreased by 37.12 points or 0.45 percent to close at 8,202.01 points with 5.706 million shares.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index lost 5.55 points or 0.09 percent to close at 6,388.47 points with 17.447 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index inched up by 13.8 points or 0.37 percent to close at 3,710.68 points with 9.497 million shares.

BR Tech. & Comm. Index surged by 104.62 points or 2.31 percent to close at 4,633.17 points with 70.452 million shares.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said that bulls and bears engaged in battle at the PSX throughout the trading session. In anticipation of a rate cut in the monetary policy, the market opened in the green and remained positive for the majority of the day. The main board volumes fell from the previous close as investor participation remained sluggish although 3rd tier stocks remained in the limelight.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Technology (up 92.4 points), Cement (up 36.2 points), E&P (up 23.9 points), Chemicals (up 16.9 points) and Cable & Electrical Goods (up 13.2 points).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022