KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) carried forward its positive momentum for the third successive session, ending the day in the green zone again.
The indices that opened positively on Wednesday soon turned their directions for some time but managed to recover and close the session with decent gains.
On the economic front, Pakistan’s current account deficit dipped 73pc to $579 million in the first month of the current fiscal year (July-FY20). According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the current account deficit stood at $2.13 billion in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s newly appointed Chairman Aamir Khan held a number of meetings with PSX stakeholders during his three-day visit to Karachi.
The KSE-100 Index marked an intraday high of 31,101.31 after gaining 682.09 points. It closed higher by 553.53 points at 30,972.75. The KMI-30 Index accumulated 1,149.55 points or 2.41pc to end at 48,844.84, while the KSE All Share Index appreciated by 299.21 points, ending at 22,572.38.
The banking sector (+121.11 points), fertiliser sector (+92.45 points) and power generation and distribution sector (+85.10 points) remained the major contributors to the KSE-100 Index. Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +68.87 points), Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO +63.74 points) and United Bank Limited (UBL +55.27 points) were the top contributing companies of the day.
The overall market volume was recorded at 134.56 million. TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +1.97pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +4.55pc) and The Bank of Punjab (BOP +4.79pc) led the volume chart on Wednesday. The scripts had exchanged 11.97 million shares, 10.68 million shares and 6.14 million shares respectively.
Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH -0.67pc) announced its financials for the second quarter of FY19 along with an interim cash dividend of Rs3.00 per share. Earnings per share rose from Rs0.86 in 2QFY18 to Rs2.99 in 2QFY19.
International Industries Limited (INIL +4.99pc) announced its financial performance for the year ending 30th June 2019. A final cash dividend of Rs3 was also declared in addition to Rs2.50 already paid. The company’s sales improved by 3pc YoY, while its earnings per share declined from Rs13.19 in FY18 to Rs13.13 in FY19.
