Positive sentiment prevailed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark KSE-100 Index closed the second consecutive session in the green on Thursday.
Buying was witnessed since the start of the session as the KSE-100 hit an intra-day high of 78,978.60 before the index witnessed some profit-taking.
At close, the benchmark index settled at 78,528.25, up by 252.61 points or 0.32%.
It was the second day that the bulls maintained their hold in the market, as the KSE-100 had closed 335 points higher on Wednesday.
However, on Thursday, volume on the all-share index decreased to 283.54 million from 469.75 million a session ago.
“The equity market closed on a positive note today with a slight increase. However, lower participation was observed as investors await positive developments in the upcoming IMF programme,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities said in its post-market report.
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Banking, fertiliser, E&Ps, pharma, and cement sectors stood positive contributors in Thursday’s session, while OMCs, textile, technology, auto, and power closed in the red.
In a key development, the government approved a payment of Rs82 billion ($233.17 million) to Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC), Pakistan’s largest E&P firm, as part of the circular debt settlement plan. The development was shared by OGDC in a notice to the PSX on Thursday.
The National Assembly approved on Wednesday 117 demands for grants worth Rs6.87 trillion to meet expenditures of various federal ministries and their departments during the financial year ending June 30, 2025 by rejecting all the cut motions of opposition.
Remittance flow in Pakistan is expected to recover and grow at about 7% to reach $28 billion in (calendar year) 2024 and increase another 4% to about $30 billion in 2025, said the World Bank in its report ‘Migration and Development Brief 40’ released on Wednesday.
Globally, Asian shares fell and bond yields spiked on nervousness about inflation on Thursday, while the yen’s slide past 160-per-dollar had currency traders bracing for Japan to step in and steady it.
The jittery mood had frothy sectors of financial markets especially vulnerable and Nasdaq futures dropped 0.5%.
Shares in bellwether chipmaker Micron Technology slid 8% in US after-hours trade as it met rather than topped lofty revenue expectations.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.5%, with some of the largest losses in Australia where rate sensitive stocks sank following Wednesday’s data showing a surprise jump in inflation.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee remained largely stable against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Thursday. At close, the local unit settled at 278.38, a gain of Re0.02 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index decreased to 283.54 million from 469.75 million a session ago.
The value of shares plunged to Rs11.07 billion from Rs19.77 billion in the previous session.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 27.56 million shares, followed by K-Electric Ltd with 21.97 million shares, and Oil & Gas Dev. with 16.93 million shares.
Shares of 426 companies were traded on Thursday, of which 211 registered an increase, 150 recorded a fall, while 65 remained unchanged.