PSX slips slightly to 65,755.30 points

KARACHI
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) went slightly down on Monday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index losing 38.45 points (-0.06 percent) to close at 65,755.30 points.
The market opened on a positive note but it swung both ways in the first hour. However, the market remained in the green for most part of the session. The traders seemed unwilling to take on risks ahead of the monetary policy committee meeting, which is scheduled for next Monday.
The benchmark index traded in a range of 420.58 points, showing an intraday high of 66,119.34 points and an intraday low of 65,698.76 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 30.80 points (+0.07 percent) to close at 43,707.91 points. However, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 37.80 points (-0.12 percent) to close at 31,565.37 points.
Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased to 251.63 million shares against 240.1 million shares a session earlier. Similarly, the overall market volumes increased to 548.76 million shares against 481.70 million shares a session earlier.
Among scrips, CNERGY topped the volumes with 96.54 million shares, followed by HASCOL (52.27 million) and KOSM (27.35 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included CNERGY, HASCOL, KOSM, PTC and TELE, which formed over 40 percent of total volumes.
A total of 355 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against the same number of companies a session earlier, out of which shares of 220 closed up, shares of 116 companies closed down while shares of 19 companies remained unchanged. A total of 98 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 95 a session earlier, out of which share prices of 58 companies closed up, 33 companies closed down and seven remained unchanged.
The number of total trades increased to 217,647 from 194,515 a session earlier, while the value traded decreased to Rs16.61 billion against Rs16.99 billion a session earlier.
In terms of rupee, RMPL remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs344.5 (+3.98 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,999.5. The runner-up remained PHDL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs36 (+7.5 percent) to Rs516. UPFL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs700 (-3.2 percent) per share, closing at Rs21,200, followed by NESTLE, the share price of which fell by Rs472.23 (-5.87 percent) to close at Rs7,577.77 per share.
The major sectors taking the index towards north remained power generation and distribution companies (38 points), pharmaceutical (35 points), cement (31 points), technology and communication (20 points), refinery and automobile assemblers (18 points each), glass and ceramics (15 points), paper and board (14 points), textile composite (12 points), and engineering (11 points).
Major companies adding points to the index remained HUBC (24 points), PTC and MTL (11 points each), FFC (10 points), AIRLINK, NCPL and LUCK (8 points each), HASCOL and SEARL (7 points each), and CNERGY (6 points).
The major sectors taking the index towards south remained investment bank/investment companies/ securities companies (104 points), commercial banks (64 points), miscellaneous (39 points), food and personal care products (20 points), oil & gas exploration companies (20 points), oil & gas marketing companies (18 points), and cable and electrical goods (4 points).
Major companies depriving the index of points remained DAWH (57 points), PSEL (20 points), NESTLE (17 points), MCB (15 points), ENGRO and OGDC (14 points each), MEBL (11 points), UBL (7 points), and NBP (6 points).
Meanwhile, PSX has announced trading and office timings for the stock market during the holy month of Ramadan. From Monday to Thursday, the Pre-Open timings would be 09:00am to 09:15am, followed by the order matching and confirmation period from 09:15am to 09:17am, while the market will open at 09:17am. The stock market closing time would be 01:30pm, with the post-close session from 02:00pm to 02:15pm.
On Friday, the pre-opening, order matching and confirmation period and market opening timing would be the same, but the stock market would close at 12:30pm. The post-close session on Friday will be from 01:00pm to 01:15pm.