Daily Times

The Pakistan Stock Exchange advanced on Thursday as indices rallied right from the beginning while volumes improved considerably from the preceding session. The market sentiments were upbeat amid Supreme Court of Pakistan’s short order, announcing that General Qamar Javed Bajwa will remain the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) for another six months, during which the parliament will legislate on the extension/reappointment of an army chief.

Adding 724.47 points, the benchmark KSE 100 Index marked its intraday high at 38,847.19. The index settled higher by 583.55 points at 38,706.27. The KMI 30 Index gained 919.99 points to end at 62,281.56, while the KSE All Share Index managed to collect 376.43 points, closing day at 27,439.12. Of the 96 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 85 closed up 10 closed down, while 1 remained unchanged. The total volume traded for the index was 213.04 million shares. The overall trading volumes increased from 228.42 million in the previous session to 348.53 million.

The volume chart was led by Unity Foods Limited, Pak Elektron Limited and TRG Pakistan Limited. The scripts had exchanged 20.42 million, 19.77 million and 15.78 million shares, respectively. Sectors that propped up the benchmark index included banking adding 91.37 points power generation and distribution 75.5 points and cement 58.73 points. Among the companies, Hub Power Company Limited, Pakistan State Oil Company Limited and MCB Bank Limited remained the top positive contributors to the index.

The most points taken off the index was by Shifa International Hospitals Limited which stripped the index of 7 points followed by Habib Bank Limited with 5 points, Bank Alfalah Limited with 4 points, Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited with 3 points.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Forex Reserves increased by $115.40 Million or 0.75% and the total liquid foreign reserves held by the country stood at $15,577.70 Million on Nov 22, 2019.According to data published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) its reserves increased by $ 240.20 Million due to official inflows.

In Asia: Stock markets across slipped after U.S President Donald Trump signed approved a law backing anti-government protesters in Hong Kong. The law dampened investors’ confidence that a trade deal between the U.S and China could soon be finalised. Earlier, market sentiment was upbeat amid positive rhetoric on the U.S.-China trade front. On Tuesday, Trump said negotiators were close to reaching an initial trade deal. Trump’s upbeat comments on trade followed a phone call between officials from the US and China. The negotiators agreed to keep working on remaining issues.

The Shanghai Composite led the losses as it is traded0.47% lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and the Kospi in Seoul also lost a fraction clocking at 0.22% and 0.43% respectively. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 is also closed 0.12 5 lower to close at 23409.14 , despite a 2.5% surge in Panasonic’s share prices. The Nikkei Asian Review has reported that Panasonic may sell its semiconductor business to Taiwan’s Nuvoton Technology.