Daily Times

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile session amid profit-taking activity on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index going slightly down by 3.05 points to close at 72,761.19 points.

The market opened on a positive note and surpassed the 73,000 points level. However, profit-taking switched in and brought the benchmark index close to its day’s lowest level within the first half an hour of trading. Later, the index accumulated gains for most of the day, while both the volume and value of shares rose compared to the previous session. However, another profit-taking activity towards the end of the session eroded all the intra-day gains.

The benchmark index had gained 2,106.6 points during the preceding two sessions and profit-taking was expected. The index has surged 73.95 percent over the past year and is up 12.53 percent year-to-date.

The benchmark index traded in a range of 552.13 points, showing an intraday high of 73,260.08 points and an intraday low of 72,707.95 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index shed 115.48 points (-0.24 percent) to close at 47,235.67 points. Similarly, the KMI All Share Islamic Index shed 177.52 points (-0.53 percent) to close at 33,787.98 points.

Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 269.93 million shares, while the overall market volumes remained 621.83 million shares. Among scrips, PAEL topped the volumes with 64.15 million shares, followed by FFL (40.15 million) and WTL (29.97 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included PAEL, FFL, WTL, HUMNL and KEL, which formed around 30 percent of total volumes.

A total of 375 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of which shares of 200 closed up, shares of 152 companies closed down while shares of 23 companies remained unchanged. A total of 100 companies traded shares in the KSE-100 Index, out of which share prices of 45 companies closed up, 52 companies closed down and three remained unchanged. The number of total trades remained 274,929, while the value traded was recorded at Rs24.97 billion.

In terms of rupee, UPFL remained the top gainer with an increase of Rs100.45 (+0.52 percent) per share, closing at Rs19,547.95. The runner-up remained HPL, the share price of which climbed up by Rs92.54 (+7.5 percent) to Rs1,326.41. HCL remained the top loser with a decrease of Rs71.1 (-7.27 percent) per share, closing at Rs906.62, followed by MARI, the share price of which fell by Rs36.22 (-1.31 percent) to close at Rs2,719.2 per share. The major sectors taking the index towards south remained oil & gas exploration companies (147 points), fertilizer (78 points), cement (59 points), textile composite (26 points), oil & gas marketing companies (24 points), commercial banks (17 points) and food and personal care products (11 points).

Major companies depriving the index of points remained PPL (66 points), EFERT (45 points), OGDC (43 points), MEBL (41 points), MARI (30 points), ILP (27 points), LUCK (17 points), CHCC and BAFL (14 points each), and FFC (12 points). The major sectors taking the index towards north remained investment banks/investment companies/ securities companies (141 points), power generation and distribution (107 points), pharmaceuticals (81 points), cable and electrical goods (26 points), leather and tanneries (17 points), automobile parts and accessories (8 points), and chemicals (7 points).

Major companies adding points to the index remained DAWH (140 points), HUBC (68 points), KAPCO (36 points), HINOON (33 points), PAEL (26 points), HMB (22 points), BAHL (20 points), AGP and GLAXO (18 points each), and SRVI (17 points).