Daily Times

Bullish momentum continued to steer market sentiments at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for the second consecutive session, as benchmark kse-100 index gained 185 points by the closing bell to clock just shy of 46,000 key level.

On Tuesday the benchmark kse-100 opened on a positive note and touched intra-day high at 46,034.46 after gaining 237 points, however the index also touched a low of 45,617.54 after losing about 177 points.

During the session, investors continue to cheer recent MSCI Rebalancing results of its semi-annual index review (SAIR), whereby Pakistan now has a weight of 0.023% as compared to 0.016% previously.All changes would be effective from May 28, 2021.

But investors also reacted to record rise in remittances by overseas Pakistanis, rising to an all-time high of $2.8 billion in April, 56 per cent higher than a year ago, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Tuesday.

Moreover, bullish momentum was also pushed further over the expectations that the cabinet is set to approve IPPs payment today.

During the session Market Capital increased by Rs.33.49 billion, while total value traded increased by 2.78 billion to Rs.23.10 billion.

The volume at kse-100 surged from 201.9 million shares recorded in the previous session to 216.3 million shares, whereas the all-share volume also jumped from 437.45 million shares from the previous session to 536.79 million shares.

The volume chart was led by WorldCall telecommunication limited, followed by Tele card and Ghani Global Limited. The scrips exchanged 49.5 million, 49 million and 47.23 million shares respectively.

According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL) foreign investors were net sellers of about $3.6 million worth of equities.

Among the local investors, the buying chart was led by Individuals and Companies which mopped up $6.4 million and $1.7 million worth of equities. However, the selling chart was led by Banks and Mutual funds which offloaded around $2.3 million and $1.2 million worth of equities.

During the session, sectors which lifted the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 80 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 74 points, Food & Personal Care Products with 34 points, Technology & Communication with 30 points and Fertilizer with 18 points. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by Pakistan State Oil which contributed 50 points followed by TRG Pakistan with 43 points, UNITY with 37 points, Mari petroleum with 31 points and Pakistan Petroleum limited with 21 points.

However, sectors which dented the index were Commercial Banks with 25 points, Textile Composite with 10 points, Investment Banks with 8 points, Cement with 7 points and Refinery with 6 points. Among the scrips, the most points taken off the index was by BAHL which stripped the index of 26 points followed by Lucky Cement with 15 points, Muslim Commercial Bank with 14 points, Systems Limited with 13 points and Azgard Nine Limited with 12 points.