Daily Times

The benchmark KSE 100 Index depicted remarkable progress as it gained around 204 points and concluded at 33,861-level.It was a busy start to the week at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with earnings season hitting its peak, while volumes remained at par with previous weeks’ average.

Biggest single day investment in treasury bills in the previous week of estimated US $87.5 million, increasing total investment to US$440 million since July 2019 was the major rally point in the market sentiments.

The bourse recorded an intraday low of 33,572.36 soon after the commencement of the session. However, after regaining the momentum, the index marked its day’s high at 34,008.35 adding 350.89 points. It settled higher by 204.13 points at 33,861.59. The KMI 30 Index accumulated 386.53 points to settle at 55,155.92, while the KSE All Share Index managed to gain 86.13 points, ending at 24,543.78.

Of the 92 traded companies in the KSE 100 Index 62 closed up 26 closed down, while 4 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 91.19 million shares.

Sectors that led the volume chart were Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited which added 2.97 pc, TRG Pakistan Limited 6.13pc and Fauji Cement Company Limited 5.63pc. The scripts had exchanged 12.67 million shares, 7.65 million shares and 7.04 million shares respectively. The overall trading volumes were recorded at 135.63 million.

The investors were keenly interested in cement sector as cements performed well on the news of deferment in implementation of axle load for a period of one year. Lucky Cement Limited which was the star performer of the trading session as it contributed 29 points to the index. Among other companies Habib Bank Limited added 27points, Bank Al Habib Limited with 21 points, Pakistan State Oil 16 points remained the highest contributors.

BYCO reported a remarkable growth in net earnings, as its profits after tax for the quarter ended September 30th 2019 has surged more than twice 2.7 times as the net profits increased to Rs 668.8 million from Rs 240.9 million earned last year. The earning per share of the company exhibited a rise of around 160% from Rs 0.05 per share to Rs 0.13 per share. Meanwhile, Ghandhara Industries Limited and Ghandhara Nissan Limited reported earnings per share of Rs0.32 and Rs-0.27 for 1QFY20.Shifa International Hospitals Limited reported earnings per share of Rs9.94 for the first quarter of FY20.