KARACHI: A bullish trend continued on Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday on the back of investor interest, mainly in Fertilizer, Banking, Cement, and E&P sectors.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index increased by 252.61 points or 0.32 percent and closed at 78,528.25 points. The index hit 78,978.60 points however closed at lower level due to profit-taking in some stocks.

Trading activity however remained low as daily volumes on the ready counter decreased to 283.542 million shares as compared to 469.756 million shares traded on Wednesday. The daily traded value on the ready counter declined to Rs 11.067 billion against previous session’s Rs 19.777 billion.

BRIndex100 gained 20.52 points or 0.25 percent to close at 8,312.83 points with total daily turnover of 235.265 million shares.

BRIndex30 added 34.37 points or 0.13 percent to close at 26,578.32 points with total daily trading volumes of 154.431 million shares.

Foreign investors however remained net sellers of shares worth $7,298. Total market capitalization increased by Rs 36 billion to Rs 10.333 trillion. Out of total 426 active scrips, 211 closed in positive and 150 in negative while the value of 65 stocks remained unchanged.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 27.558 million shares and closed at Rs 1.25, up Rs 0.01 followed by K-Electric that gained Rs 0.09 to close at Rs 4.67 with 21.974 million shares. OGDC increased by Rs 1.83 to close at Rs 137.17 with 16.928 million shares.

Unilever Pakistan Foods and Rafhan Maize Products Company were the top gainers increasing by Rs 104.99 and Rs 67.21 respectively to close at Rs 18,396.67 and Rs 7,650.00 while Fateh Industries Limited and Dawood Lawrencepur Limited were the top losers declining by Rs 11.86 and Rs 7.39 respectively to close at Rs 122.54 and Rs 212.00.

An analyst at Topline Securities said Pakistan’s equity market had a positive day as the KSE-100 Index rose to an intraday high of 78,979 points and a low of 78,294 points, closing at 78,528 points (up 253 points or 0.32 percent).

The Fertilizer, Banking, Cement, and E&P sectors contributed positively, with FFC, UBL, THALL, OGDC, and MARI collectively adding 214 points.

BR Automobile Assembler Index lost 21.29 points or 0.13 percent to close at 16,897.42 points with total turnover of 8.597 million shares.

BR Cement Index gained 15.79 points or 0.21 percent to close at 7,705.78 points with 17.280 million shares.

BR Commercial Banks Index increased by 77.98 points or 0.35 percent to close at 22,106.84 points with 38.779 million shares.

BR Power Generation and Distribution Index fell by 44.76 points or 0.23 percent to close at 19,751.92 points with 30.395 million shares.

BR Oil and Gas Index inched up by 18.63 points or 0.28 percent to close at 6,597.69 points with 25.143 million shares.

BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 3,931.34 points, down 8.4 points or 0.21 percent with 59.078 million shares.

Mohammed Waqar Iqbal at JS Global Capital said bulls continued to dominate and KSE-100 Index closed at 78,528, up 253 points.

The surge was driven by the latest T-Bill auction results indicating a potential rate cut in the upcoming MPS, along with the expectation that the Federal Budget would be approved without significant opposition.

Some profit-taking was witnessed later but the index managed to stay in the green zone.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024