KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended gains on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index closing above the 52,000 points mark after over six years.
The market maintained its bullish momentum and the benchmark index gained 422.36 points (+0.81 percent) to close at 52,342.64 points. The index closed above the 52,000 points level for the first time after May 30, 2017. Experts said investors rejoiced over improved corporate profitability, and the government’s decision to raise gas tariffs, which is expected to boost the profitability of the energy sector.
The market opened on a positive note and remained in the green territory throughout the session. The positive sentiment was fuelled after the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of October 2023 clocked in at 26.9 percent on a year-on-year basis, compared to 31.4 percent in the last month and 26.6 percent in October 2022. Another optimism that kept the market bullish is a favorable IMF review that is scheduled to start this week.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 376.05 points, showing an intraday high of 52,451.21 points and an intraday low of 52,075.16 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 261.16 points (+0.75 percent) to close at 34,819.38 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 186.51 points (+0.73 percent) to close at 25,483.47 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased by 6.05 million to 258.24 million shares against 252.19 million shares a session earlier. The overall market volumes increased by 71.13 million shares to 526.46 million shares against 455.33 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, CNERGY topped the volumes with 75.77 million shares, followed by WTL (68.33 million) and PRL (55.04 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included CNERGY, WTL, PRL, GGL, and PAEL, which formed over 44 percent of total volumes.
A total of 353 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 356 a session earlier, out of which shares of 216 closed up, shares of 119 companies closed down while shares of 18 companies remained unchanged. A total of 87 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against the same number of companies a session earlier, out of which share prices of 63 companies closed up and 24 closed down.
The number of total trades increased to 210,945 from 191,173 a session earlier, while the value traded increased by Rs0.87 billion to Rs16.51 billion against Rs15.64 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, UPFL remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs525 (+2.36 percent) per share, closing at Rs22,750. The runner-up remained SFL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs69.5 (+6.72 percent) to Rs1,103.17. RMPL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs219.9 (-2.74 percent) per share, closing at Rs7,800.1, followed by KHTC, the share price of which fell by Rs27.55 (-7.5 percent) to close at Rs339.85 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained power generation & distribution (76 points), commercial banks (59 points), cement (53 points), textile composite (51 points), and oil & gas exploration companies (45 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained HUBC (78 points), POL (33 points), ILP (31 points), HBL (30 points), and SYS (23 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were fertilizer (17 points), miscellaneous (15 points), refinery (4 points), and transport and automobile parts & accessories (2 points each). The major companies depriving the index of points remained ENGRO (31 points), PSEL (16 points), SHEL (15 points), UBL (9 points), and KEL (8 points). – TLTP