Pakistan stocks continued their seesaw ride, closing above the 46,000-point level despite profit-taking as the benchmark KSE-100 Index inched up 0.30% on Friday, only a day after the bourse lost 400 points.
Volume of shares on the all-share index declined, however, dropping to nearly 171 million.
A range-bound session was witnessed as the index traded in a narrow band, but settled with a gain of 139.33 points or 0.30% to finish at 46,079.37. On a weekly basis, the benchmark KSE-100 index gained 0.37%.
“This positivity in market can be attributed to good corporate announcements, where higher-than-expected dividend announcement came as a positive surprise for the market,” said Topline Securities in its post-market comment.
On the economic front, the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended February 10 recorded a decrease of 0.08%. On YoY basis, an increase of 18.47% was recorded.
On the corporate front, PSO reported a profit of Rs32.2 billion and an EPS of Rs43 during 1HFY22 due to 24% YoY increase in volumes, inventory gains and higher other income.
Unable to sustain 46,000 level, KSE-100 retreats 400 points
“Market stayed range-bound as sustainability concerns arise over psychological level of 46,000,” said Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in a note.
“Cement sector stayed under pressure due to higher international coal prices. PSO stayed under pressure due to zero payout (cash dividend or bonus) in the financial result,” it said.
Sectors driving the KSE-100 Index upwards include banks (121.6 points), misc (26.8 points), automobile (21.3 points) and cement (18.0 points).
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 170.63 million from 285.97 million on Thursday. The value of shares traded also declined to Rs7.72 billion from Rs9.27 billion recorded in the previous session.
K-Electric Limited was the volume leader with 11.99 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 11.43 million shares, and TRG Pakistan Limited with 11.12 million shares.
Shares of 358 companies were traded on Friday, of which 143 registered an increase, 195 recorded a fall, and 20 remained unchanged.
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