The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) saw a mixed session on Thursday and the KSE-100 Index rose in the first half before profit-taking eroded most of the intra-day gains.
Renewed hopes of signing of staff level agreement between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) boosted investor interest before political and economic instability jumped to the fore.
KSE-100 jumps 0.81% amid rumours of financing from ‘friendly country’
By the end of the session, the KSE-100 Index rose 79.49 points or 0.2% to close at 40,205.54.
Trading began upward and the KSE-100 Index hit an intra-day high in the initial hour. At this point, selling pressure gripped the stock market and it fell steadily for the rest of the session.
Cement, banking and oil sectors closed with gains while automobiles ended the day in the red. Chemical segment closed the session on a mixed note.
A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that bulls seized control of the PSX as the business week came to a close.
“The bourse opened with upbeat vibes due to progress in signing the SLA between the government and the IMF for the extended tranche,” it said. “After the IMF news, investors breathed a sigh of relief as the index reached an intraday high of 292.55 points, but political instability forced them to stay cautious as slow activity was observed.”
The volume remained flat across the board, the report said.
Capital Stake, in a report, said that the PSX closed last trading session of the week flat.
Indices traded in green all day long, while volumes increased from last close, the report added.
Sectors raising the benchmark KSE-100 Index higher included banking (34.38 points), power generation and distribution (20.83 points) and cement (18.00 points).
Volume on the all-share index rose to 89.2 million from 79.8 million on Wednesday while the value of shares traded increased to Rs2.76 billion from Rs2.6 billion recorded in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 7.7 million shares followed by K-Electric Limited with 4.2 million shares and Pakistan Petroleum with 4 million shares.
Shares of 311 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 138 registered an increase, 147 recorded a fall and 26 remained unchanged.
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