Stocks climbed to the highest level of 39,806 points Wednesday. The bluechips in banking, cement and auto sectors led the bull-run. The KSE-100 index rallied to intraday high of 39,862 before settling at the record high, adding 142 points or 0.36 percent to the index. Trading volume rose to 242 million shares the value of which also appreciated to Rs 12.32 billion from the previous Rs 11.53 billion. Of the total 394 scrips, 217 posted gains, 152 lost their worth and 25 remained unchanged.
The market capital accumulated to Rs 7.93 trillion as foreign portfolio investment marked a net selling of $8.12 million. "The local bourse marked another milestone today as the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at its highest level ever," viewed analysts at Topline Research. They attributed the day''s gain to Habib Bank (HBL) and Lucky Cement (LUCK) which added 70 points to the index cumulatively.
"Result season attracted investors to select stocks," the analysts said. "Stocks closed higher led by bluechip oil, cement and auto stocks on reports for upbeat sales in July''16," said Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp. He said concerns over foreign outflows, high circular debt and weak Pak-India ties invited intraday correction. "Speculations ahead of major earning announcements this week played a catalytic role in the bullish close," said Mehanti.
Dewan Salman led volumes with 27 million of its listed stocks changing hands each retailed at Rs 3.37 at close. Other best performing issues were Engro Fertilizers, NIB Bank, K-Electric, SSGC, Dewan Motors, Nimir Resins, Pak Elektron, JS Bank and Hi-Tech Lubricants. MCB Bank (MCB) gained 0.1 percent after it announced 2Q2016 results which were in line with street consensus. EFERT gained 0.8 percent after declaring Rs 2 per share dividend which, analysts called as a surprise for the market....earnings were aligned with consensus. Futures trade contracted to 25.87 million contracts compared to 28.85 million of a day earlier.