KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a strong recovery on Tuesday after a series of consecutive declines in previous sessions.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 757 points or 0.68 percent to close at 112,743.80 points up from 111,986.89 points. The index hit an intraday high of 112,877.02 points and intraday low level 111,717.17points.
Analysts said stocks rebounded as investors assessed a decade-low CPI inflation of 1.5 percent YoY in February 2025, which is expected to influence the IMF and support a looser monetary policy.
BRIndex100 increased by 119 points or 1.01 percent to close at 11,889.30 points on Tuesday compared to 11,770.40 points a day earlier. Total volume at BRInex100 was 177.487 million shares.
BRIndex30 opened at 35,244.64 points. It touched an intraday high of 35,686.21 points and an intraday low of35,244.64 points and finally closed at 35,686.21 points which was 441.57 points or 1.25 percent higher than previous close. Total volume at BRIndex30 was 103.555 million shares.
Despite the positive momentum, overall market activity remained subdued, with 206.851 million shares traded, significantly lower than the 208.88million shares recorded in the previous session. Similarly, the total traded value on the ready counter declined sharply to Rs 11.337 trillion, compared to Rs 11.881 trillion in the last session.
The market capitalization increased Rs 86 billion to Rs 13.927 trillion. Out of 429 active scrips, 221 closed in positive and 150 in negative while the value of 58 stocks remained unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 12.56 million shares and closed at Rs 1.40 followed by Citi Pharma Ltd that closed at Rs 92.93 with 12.28 million shares. Pak Int. Bulk ranked third with share trading of 10 million shares and closed at Rs 9.2.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited and Sapphire Textile Mills Limited were the top gainers increasing by Rs 61.32 and Rs 28.82 respectively to close at Rs 23,066.34 and Rs 1,200.00, while Mehmood Textile Mills Limited and Reliance Cotton Spinning Mills Limited were the top losers declining by Rs 42.52 and Rs 33.41 respectively to close at Rs 385.73 and Rs 483.67.
Ahsan Mehanti analyst at Arif Habib Corp said that stocks showed recovery as investor weigh low CPI inflation at 1.5pc YoY in Feb’25.Strong earnings outlook for blue chip banking, fertilizer and oil scrips, and Govt deliberations over privatisation of SOEs, played catalyst role in bullish close at PSX, he added.
BR Automobile Assembler Index gained 60.51 points to close at 21,479.43 points with a total turnover of 3.512 million shares.BR Cement Index closed at 12,472.28 points, up by 116.12 points or 0.94 percent with a total turnover of 22.637 million shares.
BR Commercial Banks Index rose by 206 points or 0.68 percent to close at 30,487.19 points with a total turnover of 26.539 million shares.BR Power Generation and Distribution Index increased by 214.03 points to close at 18,834.60 points with a total turnover of 13.428 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 11,216.95 points, which is 74.26 points or 0.67 percent higher with a total turnover of 13.435 million shares.BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 4,997.31 with a net positive change of 58.31 points or a percentage change of 1.18 and overall,23.566 million shares were traded.
Analysts at Topline said that after enduring four consecutive bearish sessions, the bulls made a strong comeback today, driving the benchmark index to an intraday high of 890 points and a low of 269 points.
Investor sentiment improved significantly, fuelled by positive economic data. On the news front, annual inflation continued its downward trajectory, reaching a nearly decade-low level in February.
The market’s recovery was led by buying interest in key sectors, as investors capitalized on recent dips. UBL, MARI, FFC, SEARL, and HUBC were among the top contributors, collectively adding 400 points to the index. Additionally, the pharmaceutical sector attracted strong investor interest, with SEARL, BFBIO, and CPHL closing higher than their previous day’s levels.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025