Equities roar back

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday rebounded and closed on strong positive note with healthy gains on the back of fresh buying on available attractive, low levels.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 3,238.17 points or 3.05 percent and closed at 109,513.15 points. During the session, the index initially dropped in negative to hit 105,601.04 points intra-day low however fresh buying supported the index to hit 109,846.64 points intra-day high level.

Trading activity however remained low as total daily volumes on ready counter decreased to 754.917 million shares as compared to 1,167.361 million shares traded on Thursday. The daily traded value on the ready counter declined to Rs 39.424 billion against previous session’s Rs 56.797 billion.

BRIndex100 soared by 342.70 points or 3.01 percent to close at 11,726.51 points with total daily turnover of 650.603 million shares.

BRIndex30 increased by 1,165.10 points or 3.31 percent to close at 36,376.64 points with total daily trading volumes of 414.678 million shares.

Foreign investors however remained on the selling side and withdrew $1.492 million from the local equity market. Total market capitalization increased by Rs 355 billion to Rs 13.958 trillion. Out of total 459 active scrips, 281 closed in positive and 119 in negative while the value of 59 stocks remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 99.942 million shares and gained Rs 0.08 to close at Rs 1.60 followed by Pace (Pak) Limited that increased by Rs 0.96 to close at Rs 7.19 with 43.280 million shares. K-Electric inched up by Rs 0.10 to close at Rs 5.32 with 40.644 million shares.

Unilever Pakistan Foods and Nestle Pakistan were the top gainers increasing by Rs 774.38 and Rs 70.28 respectively to close at Rs 21,399.80 and Rs 7,311.65 while Rafhan Maize Products Company and Shahmurad Sugar Mills were the top losers declining by Rs 60.45 and Rs 45.65 respectively to close at Rs 9,190.13 and Rs 435.87.

“After remaining under pressure for three consecutive trading sessions, KSE-100 Index rebounded where benchmark index gained 3.05 percent to close at 109,513 level,” an analyst at Topline Securities said.

Investors came in to purchase shares in dip as they factored in all is not lost given low interest rate environment where further cut is expected in monetary policy going forward.

Traded value wise MARI (Rs 5.95 billion), PSO (Rs 2.73 billion), HUBC (Rs 2.58 billion), ATRL (Rs 1.51 billion) and FFC (Rs 1.46 billion) dominated the activity.

Major positive contribution to the index point wise came from FFC, MARI PA, SYS, HUBC, UBL, MCB and BAFL cumulatively contributed plus 1,587 points.

BR Automobile Assembler Index gained 198.14 points or 0.99 percent to close at 20,246.34 points with total turnover of 4.939 million shares.

BR Cement Index increased by 479.34 points or 4.57 percent to close at 10,979.28 points with 45.875 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index surged by 829.58 points or 3.13 percent to close at 27,338.86 points with 51.038 million shares.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index soared by 670.90 points or 3.83 percent to close at 18,208.81 points with 67.673 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index added 344.17 points or 2.87 percent to close at 12,320.77 points with 98.539 million shares.

BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 5,413.85 points, up 319.95 points or 6.28 percent with 160.058 million shares.

Ali Najib at Insight Securities said the PSX resumed the day on a negative note, with the KSE 100 index dipping to an intra-week low of 105,601 points, a decline of 674 points. However, the market sentiment shifted positively as value investors stepped in to stabilize the market, helping the index recover some of the earlier losses and close the day at 109,513 points, up by 3.05 percent.

The sectors driving market activity included Fertilizer, E&P, Technology, Power, and Banking, with notable stocks such as FFC, MARI, SYS, HUBC, and UBL contributing significantly to the index’s movement, adding a combined 1,324 points positively.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024