KARACHI, : Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended its bullish momentum for the 11th straight session on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 237.88 points (+0.48 percent) to close at 49,731.35 points, the highest level since June 2017.
The market opened on a sharp positive note due to the government’s decision to reduce per litre prices of petrol and high speed diesel by Rs40 and Rs15 respectively, providing much-needed relief to consumers. The market touched the day’s high within the first few minutes; however, profit-taking started as the benchmark index neared the 50,000 points level. As a result, the index dipped and touched the day’s low within the next hour, switching the index briefly in the red territory. However, bulls returned and the market remained in the green territory for the rest of the session.
This notable surge in buying activity is also attributed to the improving rupee’s value against the US dollar and upcoming corporate earnings wherein the market expects decent profits. Overall, the benchmark index has gained 3,558.56 points in the last 11 sessions.
The market has been showing strength since the signing of the loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on June 30 last. Moreover, attractive valuations of stocks in terms of price-to-earning-ratio (PE) and buyback of their own companies’ shares by the companies’ owners these days have made the market attractive for investors.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 601.44 points, showing an intraday high of 49,919.03 points and an intraday low of 49,317.59 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 169.62 points (+0.51 percent) to close at 33,219.02 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 73.13 points (+0.30 percent) to close at 24,240.73 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 73.47 million to 296.34 million shares against 369.81 million shares traded a session earlier. The overall market volumes decreased by 89.01 million shares to 467.38 million shares against 556.39 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 98.17 million shares, followed by PTC (22.60 million) and PIBTL (22.07 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, PTC, PIBTL, WTL, and PAEL, which formed over 38 percent of total volumes.
A total of 359 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 360 a session earlier, out of which shares of 218 closed up, shares of 129 closed down while shares of 12 companies remained unchanged. A total of 95 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against the same number of companies in the previous session, out of which share price of 58 companies closed up and 37 closed down.
The number of total trades increased by 10,648 to 189,955 from 179,307 a session earlier, while the value traded decreased by Rs1.3 billion to Rs14.12 billion against Rs15.42 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, NESTLE remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs102 (+1.42 percent) per share, closing at Rs7,300. The runner-up remained PSEL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs39.92 (+6.05 percent) to Rs700. RMPL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs178.11 (-2.13 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,200, followed by COLG, the share price of which fell by Rs8.21 (-0.59 percent) to close at Rs1,393.84 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained technology & communication (84 points), engineering (41 points), miscellaneous (25 points), automobile parts & accessories (19 points), and investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (18 points). The major companies adding points to the ind
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