KSE-100 index snaps losing streak, surpasses 45,000-point mark

By
Business Desk
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Investors sitting in the main hall of the Pakistan Stock Exchange. — AFP
Investors sitting in the main hall of the Pakistan Stock Exchange. — AFP

  • The benchmark index records an increase of 457.17 points to settle at 45,274.93 on Tuesday.
  • Currency devaluation provided support to the technology and textile sector.
  • During the session, shares of 556 listed companies were traded. At the end of the session, 408 stocks closed in the green.


KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) snapped its seven-day losing streak on Tuesday and posted a rebound of over 450 points.

The market sentiment turned positive over the expectations of a successful review of the S6 billion IMF loan programme.

Moreover, the currency devaluation provided support to the technology and textile sector.

In addition, market participants resorted to cherry-picking of stocks, which had dropped to attractive valuations after the recent bear run.

Benchmark KSE -100 intra-day curve. — PSX data portal
Benchmark KSE -100 intra-day curve. — PSX data portal

The benchmark index closed the session in the green with an increase of 457.17 points or 1.02%, to settle at 45,274.93 points.

On the financial front, Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) announced its FY21 earnings per share of Rs21.28 along with a cash dividend of Rs1.5 per share while the stock closed at Rs83.39 (down 1.45%).

Pioneer Cement also announced its FY21 earning per share of Rs8.69 after which the stock closed at Rs89.81 (down 2.09%). While Nishat Chunian closed the day at Rs49.90 (down 0.12%) after the company announced earnings per share of Rs28.56 accompanied by a cash dividend of Rs5 per share for the FY21.

A report from Arif Habib Limited noted that initially the market traded in a narrow range, oscillating between -71 points and +120 points, but gathered pace by the end of the session.

"OGDC posted the result early on and declared below expectation dividend that dragged the price down," it said, adding that the stock price went up (although remained below last day closing price) after the announcement of a discovery.

The uptick was witnessed in technology, cement, steel, banks, oil and gas marketing companies and refinery sectors.

Pakistan Oilfield added "a formidable gain as an exception to OGDC and Pakistan Petroleum."

Earlier, trading kicked off optimistically and the KSE-100 index spiked in the initial hour but early session selling pressure erased most of the gains.

The market witnessed multiple rises and falls owing to the absence of positive triggers but it remained in the green zone throughout the day. A buying spree, emerging in the final hour, lifted the index further upwards.

Sectors contributing to the performance included technology (+157 points), refinery (+40 points), oil and gas marketing companies (+35 points), fertiliser (+32 points) and textile (+29 points).

During the session, shares of 556 listed companies were traded. At the end of the session, 408 stocks closed in the green, 127 in the red, and 21 remained unchanged.

Among these 556 firms, stocks that contributed positively to the index included TRG Pakistan (+126 points), Meezan Bank (+36 points), Pakistan Oilfields (+33 points), Systems Limited (+26 points) and Unity Foods (+24 points).

On the flip side, stocks that contributed negatively were Colgate-Palmolive (-24 points), MCB (-22 points), Oil and Gas Development Company (-19 points), Habib Metropolitan Bank (-11 points) and Pakistan Petroleum (-8 points).

Telecard Limited was the volume leader with 35.8 million shares, gaining Rs1.21 to close at Rs17.38. It was followed by Byco Petroleum with 33.6 million shares, gaining Rs0.83 to close at Rs7.84, and WorldCall Telecom with 22.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.15 to close at Rs2.91.