The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a range-bound session on Thursday as its benchmark KSE-100 Index closed higher by 355 points after swaying between positive and negative territories.
Since start of the trading session, the KSE-100 stayed range-bound as investors looked for more clarity on both the political and economic fronts.
At close, the KSE-100 settled at 61,914.34, up by 355.19 points or 0.58%.
“The benchmark index closed on a positive note today, extending yesterday’s streak, led by a rally in technology stocks,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities said in its post-market report.
On Wednesday, a final-hour buying spree had pushed the KSE-100 index to settle with an increase of nearly 1,100 points.
On the political front, a notification issued from the Punjab’s Governor House stated that Governor Baligh ur Rehman had summoned a session of the Punjab Assembly on Friday at the provincial assembly’s chambers.
The Punjab Assembly will be the first house convening its opening session since the general elections were held on February 8.
In a key development for the country’s auto sector, Indus Motor Company Limited (INDU) announced that its board had approved an investment of around Rs3 billion (~$10.76 million) for enhancing the localisation of production.
Indus Motor Company (IMC) reported a profit of Rs4.96 billion for the half-year ended December 31, 2023, an increase of 89% when compared with earnings of Rs2.63 billion in the same period of the previous year.
The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), one of the country’s largest commercial banks, registered a profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs53.32 billion during calendar year 2023, a growth of over 72% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee marginally increased against the US dollar, appreciating 0.06% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local unit settled at 279.33, a gain of Re0.17 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 324.83 million from 362.77 million a session ago.
The value of shares increased to Rs13.96 billion from Rs12.49 billion in the previous session.
Pak Elektron was the volume leader with 23.11 million shares, followed by Cnergyico PK with 21.24 million shares, and Pak Int.Bulk with 16.25 million shares.
Shares of 352 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 185 registered an increase, 143 recorded a fall, while 24 remained unchanged.