Extending gains from the previous session, the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed another session in the green with a gain of 322 points on Thursday.
The index opened on a positive note, and witnessed a stronger rally in the second half of the day, accumulating over 650 points in intra-day trading to hit 46,162.78.
Profit-booking, however, took the index lower in the final hour.
At close on Thursday, the KSE-100 Index settled higher by 321.94 points or 0.71 to end at 45,821.4. Both volume and value of shares traded improved from the previous session.
Investors seemed to have gained some confidence after the government said negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are progressing smoothly, and a joint announcement regarding the release of $1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will be made soon.
On the economic front, auto financing reached an all-time high at Rs338 billion as of September 2021, up 45.5% year-on-year, and 3.8% on monthly basis.
On the corporate front, Askari Bank Limited announced earnings at Rs6.8 billion, alongside an EPS of Rs5.40 for 9MCY21 depicting a YoY downturn of 17%. Kohat Cement Company Ltd also announced its 1QFY22 financial result, posting a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs1.4 billion alongside an EPS of Rs6.96, compared to Rs507 million PAT and an EPS of Rs2.52 during the same period last year.
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On Thursday, sectors taking the benchmark KSE-100 index upwards included banking (211.82 points), oil and gas exploration (94.09 points) and fertiliser (89.04 points).
Volume on the all-share index increased from 308.19 million on Wednesday to 338.32 million on Thursday. The value of shares traded also increased, amounting to Rs13.36 billion from Rs10.38 billion on Wednesday.
Bank of Punjab was the volume leader with 25.57 million shares, followed by Telecard Limited XB with 24.33 million shares, and Hum Network with 23.89 million shares.
Shares of 359 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 158 registered an increase, 185 recorded a fall, while 16 remained unchanged.