KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed mixed reactions from investors on Friday, as the indices that remained choppy in the first half turned their course in the second half to end the day in the green. Foreign investors offloaded shares worth $2.26 million on Thursday.
On the economic front, Pakistani Rupee depreciated to approximately Rs157 in interbank market intraday. The rupee was traded at about Rs156.50 in the open market, according to news reports. In the last two days, the local currency has lost Rs5 against the dollar.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves held by central bank declined by 0.7pc on a weekly basis to stand at $7.8 billion, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The KSE-100 Index benchmark declined by 107.43 points to reach an intraday low at 35,295.64. It then managed to recover its losses and after accumulating 256.68 points touched its intraday high of 35,659.35. The index finally closed higher by 169.88 points at 35,572.95. The KMI-30 Index gained 441.09 points to end at 57,064.55, while the KSE-All Share index settled at 25,939.74 after gathering 103.58 points.
The overall trading volumes were recorded at 167.87 million. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +4.98pc), TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +5.54pc) and Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +6.28pc) were volume leaders of the day. The scripts had exchanged 15.45 million shares, 11.55 million shares and 10.97 million shares respectively.
The cement sector gathered 3.65pc in its cumulative market capitalization to end as a major gainer. DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC) was up by 4.99pc, Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL) by +6.28pc and Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK) by +3.75pc.
