The stock market staged a handsome rally on Thursday and soared close to 1,300 points as investors cherry-picked stocks that had dropped to attractive valuations following multiple rounds of hammering in the past month owing to the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan. The lockdown imposed by the government seems to be effective as the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan has been largely contained. Market participants considered it a good omen and made fresh investment. In addition to that, the government is due to announce a Rs100-billion package for the construction industry on Friday, which further fueled investor optimism. During the day, international crude oil prices surged over 10% and investors opted for oil stocks, which resulted in the entire oil sector ending with modest gains. Earlier, trading began on a positive note and the KSE-100 index climbed steadily throughout the day. The index managed to cross the 30,000-point mark midday and strong investor sentiment helped extend the gains. At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 1,277.10 points, or 4.33%, to settle at 30,782.67. Arif Habib Limited Head of Research Samiullah Tariq reportedly said that investors expected the announcement of supportive measures by the government for the construction sector, which was the main reason behind the bull-run. “The decision of provincial and federal governments to impose complete and partial lockdown is seemingly bearing fruit, which raises hope for a not-so-severe impact on Pakistan’s economy,” he said. The analyst pointed out that stocks had fallen to attractive valuations, hence, investors considered it the right time to invest. JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said the benchmark index rose to intra-day high of +1,336 points before closing at 30,782 (up 1,277 points). “The bull-run can be attributed to optimistic investors who accumulated stocks at attractive levels,” he said. “Traded volume improved by 61% day-on-day to 311 million shares while traded value increased to $62 million.” Top volume leaders of the session were Hascol Petroleum (+8.5%), K-Electric (+6.8%) and Unity Foods (+7.3%) that cumulatively contributed over 69 million shares. Major movers of the day were Oil and Gas Development Company (+7.5%), Pakistan Petroleum (+7.5%), Lucky Cement (+7.5%), Hubco (+4.8%), Pakistan Oilfields (+7.4%), HBL (+4.1%), MCB (+4.1%) and Engro (+3.1%), which pushed the index into the green zone. The cement sector enjoyed the bull-run the most where Lucky Cement (+7.5%), DG Khan Cement (+7.5%), Maple Leaf Cement (+7.5%), Pioneer Cement (+7.5%), Cherat Cement (+7.5%) and Fauji Cement (+7.5%) closed at their respective upper locks. Steel and exploration and production sectors did not fall behind as Amreli Steel (+7.5%), International Steels (+7.5%), Pakistan Petroleum (+7.5%), Oil and Gas Development Company (+7.5%) and Pakistan Oilfields (+7.4%) touched their respective upper locks. On the news front, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that the government would unveil a Rs100-billion package for the construction industry as the authorities tried to keep the country afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Going forward, we expect the market to remain on the positive side and recommend investors to book profit on strength,” the analyst said. Overall, trading volumes increased to 311.6 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 193.7 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs10.4 billion. Shares of 366 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 312 stocks closed higher, 47 declined and seven remained unchanged. Hascol Petroleum was the volume leader with 29.5 million shares, gaining Re1 to close at Rs12.78. It was followed by K-Electric with 20.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.19 to close at Rs2.99 and Unity Foods with 19 million shares, gaining Rs0.71 to close at Rs10.45. Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs1.88 billion worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.