KARACHI: A positive momentum continued at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday and the index reached fresh record high of 71,433 points.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index witnessed a gain of 523.56 points or 0.74 percent with major contributions coming from the oil sector and banks followed by the fertilizer sector. The index touched intraday high of 71,861 points and intraday low of 70,882 points and closed at the highest-ever level of 71,433.46 points compared to 70,910 points on Friday.

Daily trading activity remained robust, with a turnover of 655.205 million shares compared to 475.83 million in the previous session, while total daily traded value on the ready counter increased to Rs 31.248 billion against previous session’s Rs 23.22 billion.

BRIndex100 gained 60.71 points or 0.82 percent to close at 7,454.89 points on Monday compared to 7,394.18 points on Friday. It touched an intraday high of 7,454.89 points and an intraday low of 7,394.18 points. Total volume at BRIndex100 was 589.238 million shares and Habib Bank was the most traded company with a volume of 48.145 million.

BRIndex30 touched an intraday high of 24,250.04 points and an intraday low of 24,120.94 points. End of the session it increased by 129.1 points or 0.54 percent to close at 24,250.04 points with a total volume of 399.98 million shares.

Analysts at AHL said that news flow was dominated by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit which was according to PM Sharif “very productive” with leaders agreeing to boost bilateral relations and increase trade volume to USD 10 billion.

In addition, Pakistan has posted another Current Account Surplus of USD 619 in March 2024 versus USD 537 million March 2023. This surplus further buoyed investor sentiment.

The market capitalization increased by Rs 92 billion to Rs 9.925 trillion. Out of total 389 active scrips, 140 closed in negative and 217 in positive while the value of 32 stocks remained unchanged.

Habib Bank was the volume leader with 48.145 million shares and closed at Rs 114.53 followed by Pak Refinery that closed at Rs 28.70 with 30.5 million shares. Pak Electron ranked third with 28.595 million shares and closed at Rs 23.43.

Mari Petroleum Company Limited and Ismail Industries Limited were the top gainers increasing by Rs 133.51 and Rs 76.35 respectively to close at Rs 2,755.69 and Rs 1,149.21 while Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited and Sapphire Fibers Limited were the top losers declining by Rs 366.66 and Rs 69.90 respectively to close at Rs 20,533.34 and Rs1,350.10.

Analysts said that overall, the positive momentum from last week continued, with reduced tensions between Iran and Israel contributing to a decline in international oil prices. Additionally, the market responded favorably to a decrease in inflation figures, prompting increased interest in cyclical stocks such as automotive and cement.

BR Automobile Assembler Index gained 333.2 points or 2.01 percent to close at 16,945.20 points with a total turnover of 13.879 million.

BR Cement Index also increased by 133.62 points or 1.96 percent to reach 6,948.40 points with a total turnover of 45.295 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index surged by 127.96 points or 0.68 percent to close at 18,895.55 points with a total turnover of 112.205 million.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 15,682.10 points, down by 103.54 points or 0.66 percent and its turnover was 35.883 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 6,567.00 points with a net positive change of 83.9 points or a percentage change of 1.29 and a total turnover of 41,323,354.

BR Tech. & Comm. Index also gained 87.19 point or 2.32 percent to close at 3,852.73 points with a total turnover of 98.968 million shares.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024