The KSE-100 Index continued to trade in a narrow range, settling 0.28% higher to finish above the 45,000-point level on Thursday.

Both volume and value of shares traded rose day-on-day but trading remained lacklustre on lack of positive triggers.

At close on Thursday, the KSE-100 Index finished at 45,083.04, a gain of 127.99 points or 0.28%.

“Market opened on a positive note as investors cheered the T-Bill auction as cut-off yields declined 15-70 bps,” said Topline Securities in a post-market comment.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised Rs825 billion against a target of Rs650 billion. The 3M cut-off yields decreased by 15bps to 10.30%, while 6M cut-off yields also decreased by 68bps to 10.69%.

"Rise in coronavirus cases and increasing global crude oil prices continued to dent investor confidence," said Capital Stake in a note.

Pakistan reported over 7,000 coronavirus cases at a positivity ratio of 11.91% during the last 24 hours as the country continued to tackle spread of the fifth wave. The coronavirus positivity rate continued to be recorded above 10% for the eighth day in a row.

On the corporate front, Interloop Limited announced earnings for 1HFY22, recording profit after tax of Rs4,718 million, up by 62% YoY compared to Rs2,904 million in same period last year.

KSE-100 closes marginally positive, but still shy of 45,000

Volumes increased on Thursday, clocking in at 173.59 million on the all-share index, up from 137.31 million a day ago. The value of shares traded also increased to Rs6.57 billion from Rs5.36 billion on Wednesday.

TRG Pakistan Limited was the volume leader with 19.12 million shares, followed by Hum Network with 15.24 million shares, and Unity Foods Limited with 11.71 million shares.

Shares of 333 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 135 registered an increase, 169 recorded a fall, and 29 remained unchanged.