KSE-100 settles shy of 63,000 after 463-point gain

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another positive session on Tuesday, as the benchmark KSE-100 closed higher by 463 points in a late-session turnaround.

The KSE-100 witnessed range-bound trading in the first half of the session as it hit an intra-day low of 62,215.19.

However, a strong late-session buying spree pushed the index to the green as it hit 63,000 level for the first time in history.

At close, the benchmark index settled at 62,956.03, up by 462.97 points or 0.74%.

On Monday, the KSE-100 crossed the 62,000 level amid a single-day gain of 801.80 points or 1.30%.

“The aforementioned upward momentum signifies a boost in investor confidence, driven by optimistic expectations of an improved economic landscape. This positive outlook is supported by anticipated financial inflows from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly countries.

“Additionally, there is speculation about a potential reduction in interest rates in upcoming MPC meeting, further enhancing the positive sentiment,” brokerage house Topline Securities said.

In the course of trading hours on Tuesday, stocks from the OMC, E&P, and bank sectors made favourable contributions include PPL, OGDC, MEBL, POL, and ATRL, collectively adding 399 points. Conversely, some stocks such as MTL, HUBC, and LUCK experienced profit-taking, resulting in a combined loss of 129 points, according to the brokerage house.

Meanwhile, the rupee’s appreciation run continued against the US dollar for the sixth successive session as it gained 0.05% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local currency settled at 284.38 after an increase of Re0.15.

Volume on the all-share index increased to 765.4 million from 734.3 million a session before.

The value of shares decreased to Rs30.8 billion from Rs31.6 billion in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK remained the volume leader with 82.3 million shares, followed by Pak Refinery with 53.7 million shares and Fauji Foods Ltd with 37.6 million shares.

Shares of 383 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 188 registered an increase, 177 recorded a fall, while 18 remained unchanged.