PSX gains 74 points ahead of interest rate decision

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) made some gains in a cautious trade on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 74.04 points (+0.11 percent) to close at 64,890.50 points.
The market opened on a positive note, took a dip and then remained in the green for the rest of the session. The market remained cautious, as investors braced for the upcoming monetary policy decision, which was due after the market’s closure. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Islamabad continued negotiations for the last review of Pakistan’s $3 billion stand-by arrangement (SBA). The talks raised concerns among investors regarding the stringent measures the Fund might require.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 336.44 points, showing an intraday high of 65,148.36 points and an intraday low of 64,811.92 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index inched up by 4.66 points (+0.01 percent) to close at 43,161.67 points. However, the KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 56.69 points (-0.18 percent) to close at 31,090.70 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased to 91.77 million shares from 99.40 million a session earlier, while the overall market volumes decreased to 211.76 million shares from 259.37 million shares a session earlier. Among scrips, WTL topped the volumes with 16.61 million shares, followed by HASCOL (16.27 million) and TELE (14.68 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included WTL, HASCOL, TELE, PTC, and KEL, which formed over 35 percent of total volumes.
A total of 325 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 321 a session earlier, out of which shares of 143 closed up, shares of 157 companies closed down while shares of 25 companies remained unchanged. A total of 93 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 95 a session earlier, out of which share prices of 43 companies closed up, 44 companies closed down and six remained unchanged.
The number of total trades decreased to 113,172 from 126,420 on a day-on-day (DoD) basis, while the value traded decreased to Rs7.79 billion from Rs10.12 billion a session earlier.
In terms of rupee, PHDL remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs19.98 (+4.16 percent) per share, closing at Rs499.98. The runner-up remained PAKT, the share price of which climbed up by Rs11 (+1.12 percent) to Rs992. ISIL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs60 (-5.41 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,050, followed by SFL, the share price of which fell by Rs35.83 (-2.32 percent) to close at Rs1,506.67 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained fertilizer (80 points), power generation and distribution companies (37 points), food & personal care products (34 points), commercial banks (26 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (21 points), automobile parts and accessories (10 points), miscellaneous and oil & gas marketing companies (29 points each), and synthetic and rayon (7 points).
Major companies adding points to the index remained FFC (29 points), MEBL (27 points), HUBC (19 points), EFERT (14 points), UBL (12 points), PTC and DAWH (11 points each), UNITY (10 points), TRG (7 points), and THALL (6 points).
The major sectors taking the index towards south remained cement (42 points), oil & gas exploration companies (23 points), chemicals (14 points), automobile assemblers (13 points), textile composite (10 points), engineering (8 points), and refinery (4 points).
Major companies depriving the index of points remained LUCK (20 points), SYS (17 points), MCB (16 points), HBL (10 points), PPL and COLG (8 points each), ILP (6 points), SAZEW and MTL (5 points each). – TLTP