KARACHI: Opened on negative note, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) changed its course in the second half and ended the last session of the week in green.
Indices were observed dripping lower in the early hours of the trading session before changing their course post the Friday prayer break. KSE 100 index closed with a weekly gain of 5.4 per cent.
As per the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Thursday, foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan have continued to fall for the ninth consecutive week by 3.26 per cent on weekly basis, dropping below the $8 billion mark to reach $7.80 billion.
The KSE 100 index lost 256.49 points to touch intraday low of 39,375.42. It recovered the loss in second half of the session and touched intraday high of 40,604.91 after gaining 973 points. It managed to gain 648.26 points and close at 40,434.72. The KMI 30 index was up by 2.46 per cent or 1,667.48 to end at 69,750.37, while KSE All Share index appreciated by 1.29 per cent (375.85 points) to close at 29,625.24.
Trading volumes declined from 343.85 million in the preceding session to 311.36. The top three companies which led the volume chart included The Bank of Punjab (BOP +0.75 per cent), Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM +3.12 per cent) and Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL +4.98 per cent). The scripts had traded 48.77 million, 20.92 million and 14.68 million shares respectively.
The cement sector gained 4.08 per cent in its cumulative market capitalization. Market leader Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +5.00 per cent) touched its upper lock whereas DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) appreciated by 4.67 per cent. Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL 2.97 per cent), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +4.99 per cent) and Kohat Cement Company Limited (KOHC +5.00 per cent) all ended the day with gains.
Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC +0.83 per cent) declared its financial results for the third quarter of 2018. The company declared an interim cash dividend of Rs .80 in addition to Rs3.15 already paid. Sales were up by 20.71 per cent on quarterly basis whereas the earning per share improved from Rs1.66 in the same period last year to Rs2.99 in the current year.
