Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile session on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index shedding 74.06 points (-0.10 percent) to close at 71,359.40 points.

The market opened on a sharp positive note; however, trading at the KSE-100 remained volatile throughout the session as the index swayed both ways. The index came under heavy selling pressure in the last 45-minute session amid profit taking activity; otherwise, the session remained range-bound. The benchmark index has surged 73.63 percent over the past year and is up 10.36 percent year-to-date.

According to experts, Pakistan is aiming to agree on the outline for a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loaan, which has been helping sustain the record-breaking spree. Moreover, good March quarter dividends are helping share prices which despite rallying are trading at a forward looking price-earnings ratio of 4, they added. They also attributed the upward momentum to media reports of Saudi investment in Reko Diq, and projections indicating a sharp decline in inflation and interest rates ahead.

The benchmark index traded in a range of 508.21 points, showing an intraday high of 71,846.63 points and an intraday low of 71,338.42 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 98.78 points (-0.21 percent) to close at 46,865.87 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 47.01 points (-0.14 percent) to close at 33,3618.56 points.

Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index increased to 383.45 million shares from 360.54 million shares in the previous session. Similarly, the overall market volumes were recorded at 655.94 million shares against 655.21 million shares a session ago. Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 67.16 million shares, followed by PIBTL (46.35 million) and FCCL (45.92 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, PIBTL, FCCL, PAEL, and MLCF, which formed over 34 percent of total volumes.

A total of 368 companies traded shares in the stock exchange against 386 a session ago, out of which shares of 168 closed up, shares of 178 companies closed down while shares of 22 companies remained unchanged. A total of 100 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index just like the previous session, out of which share prices of 46 companies closed up, 51 companies closed down and three remained unchanged. The number of total trades increased to 282,235 from 280,885, while the value traded decreased to Rs24.49 billion against Rs31.25 billion in the previous session.

In terms of rupee, HCL remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs64.57 (+7.47 percent) per share, closing at Rs928.57. The runner-up remained SAZEW, the share price of which climbed up by Rs29.45 (+4.94 percent) to Rs626.15. RMPL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs184.9 (-2.23 percent) per share, closing at Rs8,125.1, followed by UPFL, the share price of which fell by Rs58.84 (-0.29 percent) to close at Rs20,474.5 per share.

The major sectors taking the index towards south remained commercial banks (113 points), oil & gas exploration companies and oil & gas marketing companies (27 points each), automobile part and accessories (25 points), power and distribution companies (20 points), fertilizer (17 points), and technology & communication and investment banks/investment companies/ securities companies (14 points each).

Major companies depriving the index of points remained MEBL (72 points), OGDC (30 points), FABL (29 points), THALL (25 points), BAFL (24 points), BAHL (22 points), PSO (17 points), KEL and HMB (15 points each), and TRG (11 points).

The major sectors taking the index towards north remained cement (119 points), textile composite (30 points), automobile assemblers (24 points), and glass and ceramics (23 points). Major companies adding points to the index remained LUCK (56 points), UBL (37 points), HBL (26 points), MTL (25 points), MLCF (21 points), MARI (20 points), TGL (19 points), DGKC (16 points), and HUBC and ILP (15 points each).