Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) snapped a four-day losing streak in a low-volume session on Friday amid easing tensions between Pakistan and Iran, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 79.82 points (+0.13 percent) to close at 63,282.22 points.

The market opened on a positive note amid excessive buying pressure and remained in the green territory throughout the first half of the session. However, profit-taking was witnessed during the second half of the trading session and the benchmark index eroded most of its gains.

According to market experts, the buying spree was due to easing cross-border tensions between Iran and Pakistan. Moreover, prospects of settlement of circular debt also added to the positive sentiment, they added.

According to media reports, the caretaker government has prepared an innovative plan to reduce the circular debt of the energy sector, which has been shared with caretaker Finance Minister Dr Shamshad Akhtar. According to the main features, the plan will be restricted to public sector companies only, budget neutral and zero leakage. A total of Rs 1.268 trillion settlement will be done under the plan.

The benchmark index traded in a range of 696.99 points, showing an intraday high of 63,911.85 points and an intraday low of 63,214.86 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 45.88 points (+0.11 percent) to close at 42,859.42 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 37.19 points (+0.12 percent) to close at 31,120.12 points.

Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index decreased by 89.44 million shares to 145.87 million shares against 235.31 million traded in the previous session. Similarly, the overall market volumes decreased by 158.49 million shares to 287.31 million shares against 445.80 million shares traded a session earlier.

Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 49.81 million shares, followed by PIAA (43.35 million) and PTC (14.16 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, PIAA, PTC, WTL, and HAACOL, which formed over 44 percent of total volumes.

A total of 339 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 343 in the previous session, out of which shares of 160 closed up, shares of 158 companies closed down while shares of 21 companies remained unchanged. A total of 94 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index against 93 companies in the previous session, out of which share prices of 45 companies closed up, 44 companies closed down and four remained unchanged.

The number of total trades decreased to 138,803 from 163,080 recorded in the previous session, while the value traded decreased by Rs4.92 billion to Rs9.32 against Rs14.24 billion in the previous session.

In terms of rupee, MARI remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs26.19 (+1.11 percent) per share, closing at Rs23,759.37. The runner-up remained HCAR, the share price of which climbed up by Rs15.35 (+5.92 percent) to Rs274.59. SFL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs63.14 (-3.8 percent) per share, closing at Rs1,600, followed by BATA, the share price of which fell by Rs35.06 (-2.01 percent) to close at Rs1,705.05 per share.

The major sectors taking the index towards north remained fertilizer (51 points), oil & gas exploration companies (35 points), automobile assemblers and investment banks/ investment companies/ securities companies (23 points each), power generation and distribution (16 points), and textile composite and cement (12 points each).

Ten major companies adding points to the index remained ENGRO (18 points), DAWH (14 points), MTL (11 points), MARI (10 points), FFC and MCB (9 points each), HCAR (8 points), JVDC and PPL ( 6 points each) and ILP (5 points).

The major sectors taking the index towards south were commercial banks (23 points), oil & gas marketing companies (19 points), technology and communication (16 points), refinery (14 points), food and personal care products (12 points), leather and tanneries (10 points), and chemicals (8 points).

Ten major companies depriving the index of points remained BAHL (11 points), UBL and SNGP (10 points each), SRVI and HBL (6 points each), BAFL (5 points), NATF and NRL (4 points each), and TBL and HASCOL (3 points each).