Daily Times

The Pakistan Stock Exchange kicked off on a steady note, maintaining its bullish trend on the first trading session of the week.

As per media reports, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation has arrived in Pakistan to hold a series of meetings with top government officials. The delegation would be briefed on the $6 billion loan it extended to Pakistan. However, the sentiments were positive amid policy rate announcement was due by the State Bank of Pakistan, speculating the central bank would cut the interest rate.

The Banking and Oil sector were the main heavy weights on the index which rallied the market to gain 447 points.

The oil and gas exploration sector gained 4.83pc while the oil and gas marketing sector surged 2.60pc following an increase in the crude oil prices by over 15pc in the international markets. Oil prices surged nearly 20pc at one point, with Brent crude posting its biggest intraday gain since the Gulf War in 1991, after an attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities at the weekend halved the kingdom’s production.

Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL +4.99pc), Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL +4.89pc) and Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MARI +3.99pc) all closed with decent gains. The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC +4.90pc) on the volume chart posted 6.71 million exchanging hands.

Adding 473.25 points, the benchmark KSE-100 Index marked an intra-day high of 31,954.56. The index settled higher by 447.24 points at 31,928.55. The KMI-30 Index accumulated 1,003.23 points to end at 50,720.00, while the KSE All Share Index closed higher by 296.15 points at 23,334.15. Out of the total traded shares, 154 advanced and 134 declined.

The overall market volumes were recorded at 104.61 million, of which 81.68 million came from the benchmark KSE-100 Index.

DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC -1.42pc) topped the volume chart following the announcement of its financial performance for FY19. The company’s sales increased by 32pc YoY, while earnings per share declined from Rs20.17 in FY18 to Rs3.67 in FY19 owing to a significant increase in finance cost (up from Rs519 million in FY18 to Rs3.30 billion in FY19). Moreover, the company announced to increase its equity investment in Hyundai Nishat Motors (Pvt) Limited from Rs850 million to Rs1.06 billion.

Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL +5.00pc), with 5.70 million shares exchanging hands, touched its upper lock during early hours after the announcement of its board meeting, which would be held on 23rd September to consider and approve the right shares. The stock had fallen by 37pc ever since it’s half-year financials were announced on August 29th.

Similarly, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGP +3.92pc), Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO +2.96pc) and Hi-Tech Lubricants Limited (HTL +5.71pc) also ended in the green zone.