KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed the week on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 422 points, or 1.10 per cent, to close at 38,646 points.
The benchmark index showed mixed activity during the first half of the session and hit a day’s low of 38,193 points, almost 30 points below the commencement of the market. The market hit a day’s high of 38,924 points during the second half of the session.
Volumes rose to almost 140 million shares worth Rs9.1 billion from Thursday’s 93m shares worth Rs4.1bn. Of the total 338 scrips traded, 208 gained in value while 100 declined and 30 remained unchanged.
Earlier, the stocks tried to recoup some losses in early trading and added 140 points to reach 38364 level in early trading. The positive note continued at the PSX till midday as the benchmark added another 84 points to reach 38307 level.
On Thursday, the stocks fell sharply amid concerns over political uncertainty. The benchmark KSE 100-index remained under pressure throughout the day and lost 596 points to close at 38,223 points.
Top index point decliners were HUBC (down 2.6%), DGKC (5%), MCB (1.6%), PSO (3.3%) & ENGRO (1.7%), withholding 150 points from the index while stocks including ABOT (up 3.1%), INDU (1.7%), COLG (2.4%), SHFA (3.9%) & CSAP (5%) added 32 points to the index.
On the sector front, cement, commercial banks, and E&P sector cumulatively took away 248 points from the index. On the flip side, chemical and miscellaneous sectors added a total of 10 points to the index.
Dealer at JS Global believe the decline was mainly due to the ongoing political situation in the country. Moreover, PKR weakened to a record low amidst expected pressure on the balance of payments of the country. Market volumes also dropped below 100m mark to reach 92.9m shares as compared to 117.7m shares of the previous day (-21% DoD). Average traded value also dropped by 24% DoD to end at USD 37.3m as against USD 48.9m. Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included TRG, KEL, PAEL, DCL and DFML, contributing a total of 32m shares, reflecting 35% share of total volumes.
