Market gains 539 points amid positive sentiment

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained bullish on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 539.09 points (+1.06 percent) to close at 51,482.92 points, breaching the 51,000 points mark once again.
The market opened on a positive note and remained in the green territory throughout the session. The positive sentiment was fuelled by expectation that the State Bank of Pakistan will maintain the policy rate unchanged. The SBP’s decision came just after the market’s closure wherein it decided to maintain the key policy rate at 22 percent in line with the market expectations.
Moreover, the market expects lower Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which is set to be released later this week. Another optimism that kept the market bullish is a favorable International Monetary Fund (IMF) review that is scheduled to start this week.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 557.99 points, showing an intraday high of 51,501.82 points and an intraday low of 50,943.83 points, which was the last session’s close. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 359.08 points (+1.05 percent) to close at 34,265.21 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 328.25 points (+1.31 percent) to close at 25,080.92 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 137.44 million while the overall market volumes decreased by 64.22 million shares to 286.62 million shares against 350.84 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, PRL topped the volumes with 32.40 million shares, followed by BOP (20.35 million) and WTL (15.2 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included PRL. BOP, WTL, MLCF, and AIRLINK, which formed over 31 percent of total volumes.
A total of 350 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of which shares of 232 closed up, shares of 99 companies closed down while shares of 19 companies remained unchanged. A total of 88 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index, out of which share prices of 68 companies closed up, 19 closed down and one remained unchanged.
The number of total trades remained 143,859, while the value traded increased by Rs0.84 billion to Rs11.45 billion against Rs10.61 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, UPFL remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs325 (+1.48 percent) per share, closing at Rs22,225. The runner-up remained RMPL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs199.88 (+2.61 percent) to Rs7,850. SFL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs86.33 (-7.46 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,071, followed by BHAT, the share price of which fell by Rs59.99 (-6.06 percent) to close at Rs930 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained cement (101 points), fertilizer (85 points), power generation & distribution (67 points), investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (62 points), and oil & gas exploration companies (57 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained HUBC (64 points), DAWH (57 points), LUCK (57 points), UBL (45 points), and MEBL (44 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were technology & communication (27 points), miscellaneous (19 points), and modarabas ( 1 point). The major companies depriving the index of points remained HBL (30 points), BOP (20 points), SYS (18 points), PSEL (15 points), and TRG (11 points). – TLTP