Buying spell continued at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday and the KSE-100 Index surpassed the 42,000-point mark again on the back of expected resumption in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal. This was the fourth consecutive bullish session at PSX.

Following a statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the market became optimistic in revival of the bailout deal.

The KSE-100 index closed the trading session at 42,142.71, an increase of 219.25 points or 0.52%.

PSX sustains gains, KSE-100 up 0.61%

Trading began on a mixed note but the market began its ascent towards mid-day. A selling spree in final hour eroded some of the gains.

Index-heavy automobile, cement and oil sectors closed in green while banking space ended in red. On the other hand, fertiliser sector closed mixed.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the positive trend continued at the PSX.

“The market opened in the green, sustaining the previous session’s strong momentum as rumours about the continuation of the IMF program, would be finalised in June made headlines,” it said. “Throughout the day, investors remained active, with the technology and telecom sectors remaining in the spotlight as the prime minister suggested incentives for the sectors in the upcoming budget.”

Across the board, healthy volumes were recorded, the report added.

A report from Capital Stake highlighted that bulls of the PSX led the market for the third consecutive session on Wednesday.

“Indices accumulated gains all day long while volumes surged from last close,” the research house said. “The positive trend is attributed to encouraging news related to the expected resumption of the IMF programme in the ongoing month.”

Sectors painting the benchmark KSE-100 index in green included, technology and communication (100.89 points), chemical (48.67 points) and oil and gas exploration (36.49 points).

Volume on the all-share index soared to 332.5 million from 240.8 million on Tuesday, while the value of shares traded fell to Rs7.15 billion from Rs7.2 billion recorded in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 79.6 million shares followed by Telecard Limited with 16.6 million shares and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal with 15.4 million shares.

Shares of 344 companies were traded on Wednesday, of which 198 registered an increase, 120 recorded a fall and 26 remained unchanged.