PSX ekes out gains with 356 points rise

• Fresh buying witnessed in various sectors.
• KSE-100 index closed at 41,425.37 points.
• Shares of 343 companies were traded.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange Thursday witnessed a positive trend on the back of fresh buying in various sectors.

The market opened on a positive note and remained in the green zone throughout the day. However, profit-taking in certain sectors minimised its intraday gains at the day end.

The benchmark KSE-100 index hit 41,630.22 points intraday high level but failed to sustain this level.

News regarding China rolling over a $2 billion loan coupled with an appreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar fuelled a bullish trend.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 41,425.37 points with an increase of 356.50 points or 0.87%.

A report from Arif Habib Limited stated that the positive momentum continued at the PSX as investors remained active throughout the day.

“The market traded in the green zone as Pakistani rupee continued its upsurge against the US dollar,” it said, adding that main board activity remained active although hefty volumes were witnessed in the third-tier stocks.

Sectors contributing to the performance included banks (+129.18 points), cement (+75.9 points), fertiliser (+25.8 points), textiles (+24.7 points), and oil marketing companies (+19.6 points).

Shares of 343 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 212 scrips closed in the green, 107 in the red, and 24 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes dropped to 275.43 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 333.02 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs7.90 billion.

WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 44.40 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.04 to close at Rs1.23. It was followed by TPL Properties with 12.19 million shares traded, losing Rs0.20 to close at Rs19.72 and Pak Elektron with 11.96 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.70 to close at Rs16.52.