Market gains 297 points amid cautious trade

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) returned back to winning ways on Wednesday from correction, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 297.24 points (+0.46 percent) to close at 64,646.84 points.
The market opened on a positive note but took a dip soon. However, bulls dominated as the benchmark index jumped over 800 points in intra-day trading, hitting the 65,200 level before eroding more than half of its gains, as traders remained cautious. Buying was witnessed in index-heavy sectors including cement, chemical, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration companies, oil marketing companies, refineries and technology & communication.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 1,025.06 points, showing an intraday high of 65,244.60 points and an intraday low of 64,219.54 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 308.14 points (+0.71 percent) to close at 43,299.67 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 189.09 points (+0.60 percent) to close at 31,732.02 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 6.64 million shares to 417.38 million shares against 424.02 million traded in the previous session. Similarly, the overall market volumes decreased by 32.05 million shares to 639.62 million shares against 671.67 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 127.79 million shares, followed by PTC (50.43 million) and PRL (35.84 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, PTC, PRL, BOP, and PPL, which formed around 42 percent of total volumes.
A total of 365 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 375 in the previous session, out of which shares of 190 closed up, shares of 158 companies closed down while shares of 17 companies remained unchanged. A total of 96 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 98 in the previous session, out of which share prices of 49 companies closed up, 45 companies closed down and two remained unchanged.
The number of total trades decreased to 223,011 from 246,046 recorded in the previous session, while the value traded decreased by Rs4.17 billion to Rs20.28 against Rs24.45 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, PAKT remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs57.89 (+5.4 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,130. The runner-up remained HPL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs30 (+2.27 percent) to Rs1,350. PSEL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs27.34 (-2.7 percent) per share, closing at Rs983.67, followed by COLG, the share price of which fell by Rs17.49 (-1.08 percent) to close at Rs1,607.37 per share.- TLTP