After four consecutive bearish sessions, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) showed recovery on the last trading day Friday. The benchmark KSE-100 index gained some 120 points to close at 48,409 points compared to 48,289 points Thursday. Ahsan Mehanti, analyst at Arif Habib, said stocks showed recovery as investors cheered World Bank approval of $ 450 million credit for socio-economic progress and receipt of $ 200 Coalition Support Fund from US.
He said the surge in global crude prices also supported select oil stocks. Pre-budget speculations in cement, banking and auto stocks played a catalytic role in the bullish close. The market opened on a positive note as the index touched an intraday high of 438 points, however the market closed at 48,409 level, up 0.25 percent. Volume at the ready counter surged to 213 million shares up from 181 million shares in the previous session. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 9.532 trillion down from Rs 9.539 trillion.
Trading took place in 387 companies, of which 215 closed in green zone, 155 in the red, while share prices of some 17 companies remained unchanged. Among top 10 volume leaders, B.O.Punjab emerged the volume leader with a trading volume of 30.63 million shares. It gained Re. 0.40 to close at Rs 16.11. Habib Bank stood second gaining Rs 1.54 to close at Rs 285.40 on 15.58 million shares. Fauji Cement ranked third with 9.4 million shares. It closed at Rs 43.02, down by Re 0.18. With a trading volume of 8.8 million, TRG Pak gained Re. 0.10 to Rs 52.74. Engro Fert declined by Re. 0.20 to Rs 64.48 on 7.6 million shares.
Rafhan Maize and Wyeth Pak were the top gainers with Rs 150.00 and Rs 123.67 to close at Rs 7,950.00 and Rs 2,597.12, respectively. Unilever Foods and Mari Petroleum were the top losers with Rs 232.50 and Rs 49.23 to close at Rs 6,067.50 and Rs 1,336.88, respectively.
Hammad Aman, Manager Equity Sales Topline Securities, said that HUBC led the market by contributing 61 points to the gain. FATIMA announced its EPS of Rs 4.47 along with a cash dividend of Rs 2 per share. HBL witnessed high volatility with highest volume traded since 2007 of 15.5 million shares Overall, market value rose by 61.7 percent to Rs 16.5 billion, he added.
Analysts at JS said that market opened on a positive note as the index traded at intraday high of +438 points however close with 120 points gain. OGDC (-3.41%) and PPL (-3.04%) in the E&P sector closed in the red where oil prices in the international market dipped as the market looked for clues on how effectively Opec production cuts are working to absorb a global supply overhang.Moreover, confidence was recouped in the banking sector where buying was witnessed in the bigger banks. HBL (+0.54%) and UBL (+1.01%) on the last trading day drove up the index, they mentioned.
No content from Business Recorder shall be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication, or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Business Recorder shall not be responsible or held liable for any error of fact, opinion or recommendation and also for any loss, financial or otherwise, resulting from business or trade or speculation conducted, or investments made, on the basis of the information posted here. Nor shall Business Recorder be held liable for any actions taken in consequence." >Copyright Business Recorder, 2017