KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange welcomed the interest rate cut decision and continued its record-breaking trend, hitting new highest-ever levels on Thursday on the back of aggressive buying, mainly by local investors coupled with institutional support.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index increased by 366.32 points or 0.40 percent and crossed historic 92,000 psychological level to close at its highest-ever level in its history at 92,304.32 points. The index hit 92,514.30 points intra-day highest ever level however closed at slightly lower level due to profit taking in some stocks.
Trading activity also improved as daily volumes on the ready counter increased to 752.664 million shares as compared to 589.546 million shares traded on Monday. The daily traded value on the ready counter increased to Rs 32.827 billion against previous session’s Rs 29.959 billion.
BRIndex100 gained 37.79 points or 0.39 percent to close at 9,805.57 points with total daily turnover of 629.829 million shares.
BRIndex30 soared by 278.09 points or 0.95 percent to close at 29,678.02 points with total daily trading volumes of 306.880 million shares.
Foreign investors however remained net sellers of shares worth $351,045. The market capitalization increased by Rs 49 billion to Rs 11.858 trillion. Out of total 452 active scrips, 223 closed in positive and 169 in negative while the value of 60 stocks remained unchanged.
Power Cement was the volume leader with 66.262 million shares and gained 0.67 to close at Rs 7.79 followed by SSGC that increased by Rs 1.52 to close at Rs 16.68 with 51.962 million shares. Fauji Foods inched up by Rs 0.44 to close at Rs 10.57 with 32.398 million shares.
Indus Motor Company and Sazgar Engineering Works were the top gainers increasing by Rs 73.60 and Rs 49.05 respectively to close at Rs 2,062.88 and Rs 1,081.39 while Unilever Pakistan Foods and Rafhan Maize Products Company were the top losers declining by Rs 554.53 and Rs 63.26 respectively to close at Rs 18,667.33 and Rs 7,442.09.
An analyst at Topline Securities said that the KSE-100 Index continued its upward momentum, reaching an intraday high of 576 points before closing at 92,304, up by 366 points or 0.40 percent.
This positive trend is largely attributed to the State Bank of Pakistan’s recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision, marking a fourth consecutive rate cut with a 250 bps reduction, bringing the policy rate to 15 percent. Additionally, assurances from the State Bank governor on key economic indicators have bolstered investor confidence.
Key contributors to this surge included LUCK, HUBC, OGDC, SYS, and MTL, which collectively added 274 points and on the flipside UBL, HBL, BAHL, CHCC and MEBL were the major laggards which cumulative subtracted 143 points from the index.
BR Automobile Assembler Index surged by 613.61 points or 3.33 percent to close at 19,054.50 points with total turnover of 12.178 million shares.
BR Cement Index gained 90.27 points or 0.89 percent to close at 10,266.53 points with 161.255 million shares.
BR Commercial Banks Index decreased by 102.04 points or 0.41 percent to close at 24,922.85 points with 34.946 million shares.
BR Power Generation and Distribution Index increased by 193.03 points or 1.24 percent to close at 15,787.69 points with 44.564 million shares.
BR Oil and Gas Index inched up by 29.85 points or 0.33 percent to close at 8,968.97 points with 110.742 million shares.
BR Tech. & Comm. Index soared by 60.79 points or 1.31 percent to close at 4,717.83 points with 82.530 million shares.
Mohammed Waqar Iqbal at JS Global Capital said the 250bps rate cut initially fueled optimism, driving the market to open higher and reach an intraday peak of 92,514, marking an all-time high. However, local investors’ profit-taking triggered a reversal, pulling the index back from its highs.
After a brief correction, KSE-100 Index regained momentum, closing at 92,304, up 366 points on the day. Trading volume reached 753 million shares, with notable activity in stocks like POWER, SSGC, FFL, PIAHCLA, and MLCF.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024