KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange ended week on bullish note as the benchmark 100-index added 232.12 points or 0.56% to settle at 41,660.75.
However, many investors chose to stand on the sidelines because of the absence of positive triggers.
Earlier, trading began on a positive note but uncertainty soon took over, erasing early gains and resulted in the index oscillating between positive and negative territories. Surviving the volatility, the index managed to climb in the first half before some selling removed a few index points in the second half.
It opened up 107 points with activity in bank and cement stocks. Lucky Cement and United Bank, despite being downgraded in the MSCI review, remained the favourites of investors.
Nonetheless, there was selling pressure in steel, fertiliser and refinery sectors and mid-cap banks. Sector-wise performance showed that chemical companies performed quite well but Engro Polymer lacked lustre.
Stocks that contributed positively to the index included United Bank (+46 points), Pakistan Oilfields (+44 points) and Oil and Gas Development Company (+37 points).
Stocks that contributed negatively were Habib Bank (-23 points), Pakistan Petroleum (-17 points) and Searle (-12 points).
Overall, trading volumes decreased to 201.5 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 254.9 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs10.4 billion.
Shares of 371 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 173 stocks closed higher, 177 declined and 21 remained unchanged.
Lotte Chemical XD was the volume leader with 19.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.14 to close at Rs19.95. It was followed by Pakistan International Bulk Terminal with 13.7 million shares, gaining Rs0.06 to close at Rs12.75 and Siddiqsons Tin Plate with 13.5 million shares, losing Rs0.02 to close at Rs20.22.
