KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued surging to new highs for the fifth straight day in a volatile session on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 142.35 points (0.25 percent) to close at 56,665.93 points, the highest ever level witnessed in its history.
The market opened on a sharp positive note but turned to profit-taking soon after hitting the day’s high within the first hour of trading and shed over 750 points to touch the day’s low. However, the bulls stepped in again to support the market. The last hour’s buying helped the indices erode losses of the day and close the session in green.
Investors are also awaiting the outcome of the imminent review by global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI). There is speculation regarding a potential increase in Pakistan’s weight in the global index. Moreover, the market is watching the ongoing discussions between the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Regarding fiscal matters, the IMF and Federal Board of Revenue deliberated on implementing structural adjustments in tax collection, including the introduction of taxes on agriculture, real estate, and retail sectors.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 755.81 points, showing an intraday high of 56,873.98 points and an intraday low of 56,118.17 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 153.08 points (+0.41 percent) to close at 37,542.84 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 231.22 points (+0.83 percent) to close at 27,793.77 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 44.80 million to 255.54 million shares against 300.34 million shares a session earlier. The overall market volumes decreased by 134.29 million shares to 526.36 million shares against 660.65 million shares traded a session earlier.
Among scrips, CNERGY topped the volumes with 35.19 million shares, followed by PRL (35.15 million) and WTL (25.93 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included CNERGY, PRL, WTL, MLCF, and PAEL, which formed over 24 percent of total volumes.
A total of 363 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 382 companies a session earlier, out of which shares of 182 closed up, shares of 160 companies closed down while shares of 21 companies remained unchanged. A total of 97 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 100 a session earlier, out of which share prices of 48 companies closed up, 47 closed down and two remained unchanged.
The number of total trades decreased to 232,768 from 239,829 a session earlier, while the value traded decreased by Rs2.87 billion to Rs19.54 billion against Rs22.41 billion in the previous session.
In terms of rupee, NESTLE remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs552.5 (+7.04 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,400. The runner-up remained RMPL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs75.25 (+0.88 percent) to Rs8,600. FASM remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs30.15 (-7.5 percent) per share, closing at Rs371.85, followed by AABS, the share price of which fell by Rs27.99 (-5.33 percent) to close at Rs497.01 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained power generation & distribution (115 points), technology & communication (81 points), automobile assembler (64 points), food & personal care products (55 points), and oil & gas marketing companies (29 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained HUBC (88 points), MTL (64 points), SYS (54 points), NESTLE (38 points), and TRG (25 points).-TLTP