KARACHI: Investors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a volatile session on Wednesday, as bulls and bears locked horns, particularly in the second half, amid range-bound trading. Foreign investors bought shares worth $1.84 million on Tuesday.
The KSE-100 index benchmark marked its intraday low at 33,339.32 during initial hours. However, it managed to recover the loses and recorded it’s intraday high at 33,604.16. The index closed higher by 47.12 points at 33,523.74. The KMI-30 Index clenched 18.37 points, ending at 53,487.97, while the KSE All Share Index gained 37.06 points, closing at 24,187.77. Out of the total traded scripts, 179 advanced and 122 declined.
The overall market volumes remained low as compared to the previous session and were recorded at 237.68 million. Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM +6.91pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +4.48pc) and The Bank of Punjab (BOP +2.30pc) remained the top traded stocks of the day. The scripts had exchanged 27.07 million shares, 26.07 million shares and 14.03 million shares respectively.
The sectors that swung the index in the negative territory included cement (-47.59 points), engineering (-12.09 points) and automobile assembling (-7.55 points). On the other hand, the sectors that helped the index accumulate gains included pharmaceutical (+27.53 points), oil and gas exploration (-22.52 points) and banking (-16.78 points).
The pharmaceutical sector gained 3.59pc in its cumulative market capitalization following the news of a hike in the prices of medicines. GlaxoSmithKline (Pakistan) Limited (GLAXO +4.99pc), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare Limited (GSKCH 5.00pc) and Ferozsons Laboratories Limited (FEROZ +5.00pc) all touched their upper caps.
