On the beginning of the new trading week Monday, Karachi Stock Exchange witnessed a positive session and the 100-Index gained 170 points to close at fresh all-time-high of 28,578 points. The index touched 28,626 highest and 28,361 lowest levels during the intraday trading. The market capitalisation remained on the higher side and settled at Rs 6.881 trillion against Rs 6.840 trillion. The trading side, however, witnessed pressure and the volume at the ready counter closed lower at 255.741 million shares from 402.954 million shares.
Commenting on the market performance, analysts said stocks closed bullish in the quarter-end earning announcement session at KSE led by select oil and banking stocks on strong valuations. They said the rupee appreciation went positive for pharmaceutical and automobile sectors. Cements battered on dismal sales data for Mar'14. Foreign interest remained thin after a major fall in global stocks. Speculations remained in second and third-tier stocks ahead of quarter-end earning announcements due next week, they added.
They said news of investors' interest in Pakistan Eurobonds supported the bull-run. Index heavyweights - OGDC and MCB - contributed 120 points helping the benchmark index to continue rallying to close near 28,600 points. Volumes, however, fell to Rs 9.1bn. Cement stocks remained under pressure amid fear of price war following news of DGKC's expansion. LPCL led volume with 33mn shares followed by FABL with 23.5mn and BOP with 21mn shares, analysts said.
Out of total 368 active stocks, some 188 witnessed positive trend, 159 negative while that of 21 remained unchanged. Two top gainers for the day were Rafhan Maize XD, which shot up by Rs 411.25 to Rs 8636.25 and Sanofi-Aventis, which climbed by Rs 42.50 to Rs 892.50. The biggest losers were Nestle Pak SPOT, which shed Rs 87.50 to Rs 8100 and Mitchell's Fruit, which lost Rs 31.22 to Rs 676.28.
Among the top 10 companies, Lafarge Pak led the tally with 33m shares but lost 22 paisa to Rs 12.78; Faysal Bank gained 60 paisa to Rs 15.69 on 23m shares; and Bank of Punjab improved by two paisa to close at Rs 11.32 on 20m shares. Fauji Cement XD fell by 51 paisa to close at Rs 17.54 on 12m shares; Pak Elektron gained 76 paisa to Rs 21.05 on 10m shares; and Byco Petroleum lost seven paisa to close at Rs 11.75 on 8m shares. NIB Bank gained five paisa to close at Rs 2.64 on 8m shares; Fatima Fertilizer bagged 11 paisa to close at Rs 31.70 on 7m shares; K-Electric lost nine paisa to close at Rs 6.81 on 5m shares; and Sui South Gas improved by Rs 1.26 to close at Rs 31.75 on 5m shares.