KARACHI: Bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, as the indices recovered the losses made in the previous session.
Foreign investors bought shares worth $1.81 million on Thursday.
On the economic front, the State Bank of Pakistan kept the interest rates unchanged at 13.25pc for the next two months. The decision, which was in line with market expectations, was taken to control inflation, which had remained high in the first four months (Jul-Oct) of the current fiscal year (FY20).
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s liquid foreign exchange reserves decline by $40 million to $15,462 million as on Nov 15.
The KSE-100 Index touched its intraday high at 37,948.37 after gaining 847 points. It settled higher by 824.48 points at 37,925.79. The KMI-30 Index accumulated 1,540.45 points to settle at 61,513.51, while the KSE All Share Index gained 488.55 points, closing at 26,858.99.
The overall trading volumes were recorded at 243.04 million. TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +0.46pc), Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +4.91pc) and The Bank of Punjab (BOP +6.30pc) remained the volume leaders for the day. The scripts had exchanged 24.47 million, 20.63 million and 15.42 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that helped the KSE-100 Index accumulate gains included banking (+202.97 points), fertiliser (+134.35 points) and oil and gas exploration (+129.51 points). Among the companies, Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO +56.68 points), Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC +54.35 points) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL 50.45 points) contributed maximum points to the index.
The cement sector added +3.74pc to its cumulative market capitalization. Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +4.27pc), D G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +4.70pc) and Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL +2.07pc) all closed with decent gains.
Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIAA -1.05pc) declared its financial performance for year ending 31st December 2018. The company’s revenue was up by 14.28pc. However, it reported a net loss of Rs67.33 billion for FY18 as compared to Rs-51.01 billion in FY17.
