Pakistan stock market sets new record-high at 43,739 points

KARACHI: The PSX-100 Index experienced a 469-point positive change today (Monday), reaching a new record high of 43,739 points. Overall, 128,824,550 shares (worth approximately Rs. 345,400,000) were traded during market hours.

Today’s high and low were registered at 43,797 and 43,270, respectively. In total, shares of 401 companies swapped hands, of which 204 experienced a positive momentum, 178 were on a downward trajectory, while 19 remained stable.

Commercial banks led the sectors in top trading, followed by Technology & Communication.

NIB Bank Ltd., Byco Petroleum, and TRG Pak Ltd. were the top traded stocks, at Rs. 2.22, Rs. 24.52, and Rs. 43.49 per share, respectively.

Wyeth Pak Ltd., Khyber Tobacco, and Mari Petroleum were the top gainers, while Rafhan Maize, Philip Morris Pak., and Island Textile were the biggest losers.

Last week, the index closed up at 43,310, the then-all-time high. The market depicted resistance to net foreign selling worth $34 million during the period. The gas price decline was a catalyst for the investor sentiment, which was otherwise hurt by rupee’s depreciation in the open market. Moreover, international oil prices shot up 10% on the back of OPEC opting for a production cut.

Importantly, Tundra Fonder CIO Mattias Martinsson spoke to Business Recorder, and predicted that “if we have smooth sailing and there is no black swan event then the index should be around 60,000 points by the end of 2018.” He added, “valuation-wise we would go for Pakistan because it is trading at a steep discount.”