The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Index closed higher after back-and-forth trading on Thursday.
Profit-taking pushed the KSE-100 below 65,000 in first few hours of the session. However, bulls fought back in later part of the day and helped the index close in the green.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 65,450.19, up by 170.03 points or 0.26%.
“The benchmark index remained volatile today throughout the day and closed positive,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities stated in its post-market report.
Oil & gas exploration companies, fertiliser, and technology and communication sectors were the major contributors in today’s session, cumulatively adding 304 points to the index, it added.
Banking, power, textile, and chemical sectors remained in the red, according to the brokerage house.
On Wednesday, investors resorted to profit-taking at the PSX as the KSE-100 Index underwent a major correction and closed lower by 1.73%.
In a major consolidation of the telecom sector, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with the shareholders of Telenor Pakistan (Private) Limited (TPL) for the acquisition of 100% shares for Rs108 billion ($385 million).
PTCL shared the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday, putting to rest reports around Telenor Pakistan’s future in the country that had been the subject of much debate over the past year.
Meanwhile, the rupee registered gains for the third consecutive session against the US dollar as it appreciated 0.04% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. As per the State Bank of Pakistan, the local unit settled at 283.51 after an increase of Re0.10 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 981.2 million from 1,358.4 million a session before.
The value of shares also declined to Rs23.7 billion from Rs37.6 billion in the previous session.
Kohinoor Spining remained the volume leader with 160.1 million shares, followed by B.O.Punjab with 89.7 million shares and Hascol Petrol with 79.3 million shares.
Shares of 389 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 198 registered an increase, 174 recorded a fall, while 17 remained unchanged.