KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange Wednesday witnessed a mixed trend and closed on slightly positive note. The benchmark KSE-100 Index crossed 42,000 psychological level during the session to hit 42,010.06 points intra-day high, however selling pressure forced the index in negative zone to hit 41,603.76 points intraday low. The index closed at 41,874.04 points, up 57.61 points or 0.14 percent.

Trading activity improved as total daily volumes on ready counter increased to 233.271 million shares as compared to 185.250 million shares traded on Tuesday while total daily traded value on ready counter increased to Rs 8.441 billion against previous session’s Rs 6.743 billion.

BRIndex100 gained 20.03 points or 0.48 percent to close at 4,218.96 points with total daily turnover of 202.374 million shares.

BRIndex30 added 75.1 points or 0.5 percent to close at 15,220.17 points with total daily trading volumes of 130.020 million shares.

Foreign investors however remained net sellers of shares worth $133,911. Total market capitalization increased by Rs 10 billion to Rs 6.387 trillion. Out of total 334 active scrips, 197 closed in positive and 113 in negative while the value of 24 stocks remained unchanged.

Maple Leaf Cement was the volume leader with 32.849 million shares and increased by Rs 1.74 to close at Rs 27.41 followed by Hascol Petroleum that gained Rs 0.09 to close at Rs 6.44 with 12.320 million shares. WorldCall Telecom closed at Rs 1.26, down Rs 0.01 with 11.016 million shares.

ZIL Limited and JS Global Cap were the top gainers increasing by Rs 16.14 and Rs 14.50 respectively to close at Rs 260.00 and Rs 297.50 while Pak Services and Reliance Cotton were the top losers declining by Rs 139.50 and Rs 41.50 respectively to close at Rs 1720.50 and Rs 650.00.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said a positive session was recorded at the PSX. The market opened in the red losing 209.39 points following the ongoing political turbulence in the state. However, bulls quickly droved the index and proceeded to make an intraday high of plus 193.69 points as investors opted to cherry pick strong fundamental stocks given the attractive valuations being offered in the market. Volumes remained robust all across the main-board while the Cement sector remained in the spotlight.

Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (up 118.5 points), Commercial Banks (up 20.6 points), Engineering (up 19.2 points), Textile Composite (up 13.8 points), and Paper & Board (up 12.2 points).

BR Automobile Assembler Index gained 29.72 points or 0.39 percent to close at 7,562.98 points with total turnover of 3.109 million shares.

BR Cement Index surged by 155.24 points or 3.92 percent to close at 4,115.81 points with 73.034 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index added 20.77 points or 0.25 percent to close at 8,370.63 points with 14.014 million shares.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index inched up by 3.36 points or 0.05 percent to close at 7,247.54 points with 11.341 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index lost 22.55 points or 0.54 percent to close at 4,126.35 points with 22.510 million shares.

BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 4,296.79 points, down 14.02 points or 0.33 percent with 25.186 million shares.

An analyst at Topline Securities said that Pakistan equities closed slightly positive where the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled at 47,874 level, up 0.14 percent.

Range-bound activity witnessed at the bourse where the market made an intraday high of plus 193 points and a low of minus 209 points.

Investors interest mostly witnessed in Cement Sector over declining global energy prices where LUCK, MLCF, DGKC, FCCL, CHCC, PIOC and KOHC closed higher cumulatively added 119 points in KSE-100 Index.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023