- Index reacts to PM Khan’s visit to China, gains 287 points to close week in green
KARACHI: Despite the ongoing countrywide protests, the Pakistan Stock Exchange managed to stand its ground and end the session with decent gains.
The optimism surrounding Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to China was evident on Friday. After the indices oscillated in both directions, they picked up the upward path to close the day in green.
As per the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank fell by 0.61 per cent on weekly basis for the 10th consecutive time. The reserves declined by $48 million and now stand at $7.78 billion.
The KSE 100 index declined by 0.26 per cent (108.94 points) to reach an intraday low of 41,607.16 shortly after the session began. It then drove in the opposite direction and touched an intraday high of 42,243.83 after gaining 527.73 points. The index settled higher by 287.99 points at 42,004.09. The KMI 30 index ended on the upper side at 72,121.31 after gathering 261.86 points, while KSE All share index appreciated by 156.32 points to close at 30,463.50.
Trading volumes improved from 245.12 million in the preceding session to 292.12 million. Pak Elektron Limited (PAEL -3.16 per cent), The Bank of Punjab (BOP +1.91 per cent) and TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +4.99 per cent) led the volume chart. The scripts had traded 28.63 million, 25.40 million and 17.27 million shares traded respectively.
The cement sector gained 2.79 per cent in its cumulative market capitalization. Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK) was up by 2.37 per cent, D G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) by 4.51 per cent and Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL) by 3.13 per cent. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +4.42 per cent) and Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +2.17 per cent) also closed positive.
