KSE-100 rises to highest level since August 2022 after 0.45% gain

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its rally for a fourth consecutive session on Friday and the KSE-100 index surpassed the 43,000-point barrier to close at the highest level since August 2022.

Investor sentiment revived over expectations of foreign aid from friendly nations and they made fresh investments.

KSE-100 up over 600 points as market upbeat over AIIB inflow

By the end of the session, the KSE-100 Index was up 191.68 points or 0.45% to close at 43,092.95.

The session kicked off with a jump but selling pressure brought the index downward and it closed negative in the first half. The second half began with range-bound trading however, a buying spree, emerging towards the end of the session, pushed the market upward and assisted it in closing in green zone.

Index-heavy banking and oil spaces recorded increases while automobile sector closed on a mixed note. The cement and fertiliser segments ended the day in the red.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that another positive day was witnessed at the PSX.

“The market opened in the positive territory although lacklustre activity was noticed which led the index to lose 96.39 points at the close of the opening trading session,” it said. “However, the benchmark KSE-100 did rebound once the trading resumed as investors resurfaced following the finance minister’s announcement of $13 billion package from China and Saudi Arabia.

“Volumes were stable overall, while healthy activity was observed in the oil and exploration companies,” it said.

A report from Capital Stake added that positive momentum continued at the PSX for fourth consecutive session as it ended the week in green.

“Indices swayed in both directions, while volumes shrunk from last close,” the report said.

On the economic front, the inflow of remittances in Pakistan fell nearly 16% in October 2022 on a year-on-year basis to $2.215 billion

Moreover, foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan plunged $956 million on a weekly basis, clocking in $7.96 billion as of November 4, 2022, according to data released on Thursday.

Rupee lost Rs0.22 or 0.10% against the US Dollar ending the session at Rs221.64.

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE-100 index north included, oil and gas exploration sector (129.26 points), technology and communication sector (99.01 points) and oil and gas marketing sector (22.78 points).

Volume on the all-share index declined to 232.8 million from 293.9 million on Thursday. The value of shares traded dropped to Rs10.2 billion from Rs5.8 billion recorded in the previous session.

Cnergyico PK was the volume leader with 21.1 million shares, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 17.9 million shares and TPL Properties Limited with 15.1 million shares

Shares of 341 companies were traded on Friday, of which 172 registered an increase, 142 recorded a fall, and 27 remained unchanged.