KSE-100 rises 0.39% in volatile trading session

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile trading session on Friday and the KSE-100 Index rose 0.39% owing to partial alleviation of political crisis.

All eyes were on the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that was set to conduct the hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest case.

At close, the KSE-100 Index was up 161.95 points or 0.39% to close at 41,487.58.

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Following an upward open, volatility gripped the market and it closed the first session 233 points up. Uncertainty remained evident in second session as well and few of the gains were erased by session-end.

Automobile, cement and banking sectors saw modest buying but oil space closed with a loss.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that a positive session was recorded at the PSX to end the business week.

“The market opened in the green, with investors waiting for the Supreme Court’s verdict on the former prime minister’s petition,” it said. “However, once the session reopened, clarity prevailed on the political front as the IHC approved the bail petition.”

Investor activity was variable, while mainboard volumes remained respectable, the report said.

A report from Capital Stake cited that carrying forward gains made in the previous session, the PSX ended the session on Friday in green.

“Indices traded in green for most part of the day while volumes shrank from previous close,” the report said.

On the economic front, rupee took a dramatic U-turn and finished with a recovery of Rs13.85 or 4.85% to settle at 285.08 against the US dollar.

Sectors contributing positively to the benchmark KSE-100 index included investment banking (54.49 points), cement (48.90 points) and paper and board (12.83 points).

Volume on the all-share index contracted to 89.5 million from 96.9 million on Thursday, while the value of shares traded rose to Rs3.4 billion from Rs2.9 billion recorded in the previous session.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 9.5 million shares followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 5.4 million shares and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited with 4.2 million shares.

Shares of 308 companies were traded on Friday, of which 174 registered an increase, 107 recorded a fall and 27 remained unchanged.