PSX gains for second day to close in on 66,000 level
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another positive session on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 380.63 points (+0.58 percent) to close at 65,906.27 points.
The indices switched in both green and red territories during the first half an hour and then stayed in the green territory. The indices continued the bullish trend till end of the session. On Monday, the KSE-100 gained 373.82 points, a momentum led by buying in index-heavy oil and gas stocks. The 66,000-point level has remained a major resistance point over the past several weeks.
In a key development, the Board of Directors (BoD) of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) approved the privatization and restructuring plan of the company. The company shared the development in its notice to the PSX. Moreover, the country’s 10 power Distribution Companies (Discos) have approached the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to further burden consumers with Rs 2.765 trillion for adjustment/ indexation of different tariff components of tariff for the year 2024-25 multi-Year Tariff (MYT) components.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 496.84 points, showing an intraday high of 65,989.54 points and an intraday low of 65,492.70 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 251.29 points (+0.58 percent) to close at 43,684.31 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 187.28 points (+0.60 percent) to close at 31,137.46 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 137.15 million shares, while the overall market volumes remained 303.71 million shares. Among scrips, PIAA topped the volumes with 30.3 million shares, followed by PTC (28.15 million) and NBP (21.03 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included PIAA, PTC, NBP, OGDC and WTL, which formed over 37 percent of total volumes.
A total of 333 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of which shares of 171 closed up, shares of 143 companies closed down while shares of 19 companies remained unchanged. A total of 93 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index, out of which share prices of 58 companies closed up, 33 companies closed down and two remained unchanged.
The KSE-100 index was supported by commercial banks (135 points), fertilizer (128 points), cement (79 points), miscellaneous (36 points), and oil & gas exploration companies (15 points).
On the contrary, the index was let down by Investment Banks/ Investment Companies/ securities companies (40 points), oil & gas marketing companies (19 points), power generation & distribution (17 points), technology & communication (7 points), and pharmaceuticals (5 points).
Companies adding points to the index were FFC with 114.99, MEBL with 101.16, UBL with 37.33, PSEL with 31.4, and LUCK with 29.5 points. Meanwhile, companies that dragged the index lower were DAWH with 40.31, EFERT with 17.65, BAFL with 17.07, MCB with 15.94 and HUBC with 11.55 points.
