PSX gains 32 points to snap six-session losing streak

KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) snapped a six-session losing streak on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 31.82 points (+0.08 percent) to close at 40,653.03 points.
The market opened on a positive note but remained volatile throughout the session. The benchmark index hit its day-high at the start of trading and then witnessed selling pressure. The investors remained cautious amid uncertainty over the resumption of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme, which has remained stalled since November last year.
The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 232.79 points showing an intraday high of 40,739.97 points and a low of 40,507.18 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 21.84 points (-0.08 percent) to close at 27,638.19 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 21.43 points (+0.11 percent) to close at 20,263.83 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 73.77 million against 93.21 million a session earlier, showing a decrease of 19.44 million shares. The overall market volumes decreased by 54.92 million to 124.86 million shares against 179.78 million shares a session earlier.
Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 9.92 million shares, followed by WTL (6.99 million) and HASCOL (6.74 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, WTL, HASCOL, CNERGY, and PPL, which formed around 29 percent of total volumes.
A total of 304 companies traded shares in the stock exchange as compared to 318 a session earlier. Out of traded companies, shares of 106 closed up, shares of 172 closed down while shares of 26 companies remained unchanged. A total of 90 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 93 companies a session earlier, out of which shares of 32 companies closed up, 53 closed down and five remained unchanged.
The number of total trades decreased by 13,308 to 70,665 against 83,973 a session earlier, while the value traded decreased by Rs1.53 billion to Rs4.05 billion.
The sectors taking the index towards north were oil & gas exploration companies (61 points), oil & gas marketing companies (29 points), technology & communication (20 points), power generation & distribution (17 points), and investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (12 points). The major companies adding points to the index remained OGDC (24 points), PPL (22 points), HUBC (20 points), SYS (19 points), and BAHL (13 points).
The sectors taking the index towards south were commercial banks (26 points), automobile assembler (25 points), chemical (17 points), glass & ceramics (11 points), and engineering (10 points). The major companies depriving the index of points remained COLG (21 points), MTL (18 points), UBL (13 points), HBL (10 points), and GHGL (9 points). – TLTP