Daily Times

Upbeat sentiments continued to prevail at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday, as benchmark KSE-100 gained 196.51 points by the closing bell, to clock at 46,160.78 index level.

On Wednesday, Investors continued to react to the prospects of release of funds on account of circular debt resolution, which prompted investors to take fresh positions in energy chain, primarily in Oil &Gas Marketing Companies and power scrips. Buying activity was also witnessed in banking, steel, refinery and textile sectors.

Market sentiments were also buoyed on the continuous improvement in industrial data as APCMA reported 2%YoY improvement in cements dispatches in Feb’21 to 4.8MTs.Cement sector posted growth of 1.98 percent in February 2021 as compared to February 2020. Total Cement dispatches during February 2021 were 4.577 million tons against 4.489 Million Tons dispatched during the same month of last fiscal year.

However, investors continued to tread cautiously over rising political uncertainty ahead of senate elections due to be held on March 3, as the government and the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) mounted last ditch efforts to gain maximum support and both are confident about their chances of victory. The market is keeping a close eye over the developments around the senate elections, as any political upset for the government in the senate elections will dampen the investors’ confidence.

During the session, the indexregistered its intraday high at 46,189.25 level after gaining 224.98 points.

The volume at Kse-100 receded from 203.65 million shares recorded in the previous session to 198.94 million shares,however the all-share volume jumped from 399.19 million shares recorded in the previous session to 403.69 million shares.

According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limitedforeign investors were net sellers of worth $3.95 millionworth of equities.Among local investors, Companies and Banks led thebuying chart, which mopped up $2.09 million, $1.28 million worth of equities.

Sectors that liftedthe index were Cement with 55 points, Engineering with 26 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 24 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 20 points and Automobile Assembler with 17 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by Muslim Commercial Bank which contributed 23 points followed by International Industries Limited with 21 points, Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited with 16 points, Meezan Bank Limited with 16 points and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited with 16 points.

However, sectors that continued to weigh down the index were ommercial Banks with 13 points, Pharmaceuticals with 6 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 4 points, Automobile Parts & Accessories with 3 points and Technology & Communication with 2 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by HabibBank Limited which stripped the index of 35 points followed by United Bank Limited with 20 points, Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 7 points, Pakistan Oilfields Limited with 7 points and Standard Chartered Bank (Pak) Limited with 6 points.