KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) turned its fortunes on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index accumulating over 1,000 points to cross the 29,000 mark.
Foreign investors ended the previous session (Monday) as net sellers with a net outflow of $2.97 million.
March 2020 turned out to be a nightmare for the PSX, as the KSE-100 dropped over 23pc or over 8,000 points during the month (highest fall in the last 10 years).
The KSE-100 Index started the day on a positive note, gaining 1,311.16 points to touch its intraday high at 29,334.55. Unlike previous sessions, the index managed to hold its ground on Tuesday and ended higher by 1,208.24 points at 29,231.63.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index gained 2,108.53 points to close at 45,051.66, while the KSE All Share Index accumulated 715.28 points, settling at 21,037.82. Of the total traded shares, 255 advanced and 56 declined.
“The overriding factor that helped investors take a positive view on the market seems to be weakening the selling pressure from foreign investors,” said an analyst at Arif Habib Limited. “Recent announcements on tax relief by the government, including select relief on account of custom duty, additional duties and GST, also helped restore the investor confidence.”
The overall market volumes increased from 159.45 million in the previous session to 221.83 million, with Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL +9.39pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +7.19pc) and K-Electric Limited (KEL +6.79pc) leading the volume chart. The scripts had exchanged 25.78 million, 19.03 million and 16.82 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that painted the index green included banking (+341.48 points), fertilizer (+161.01 points) and oil & gas exploration (+124.96 points). Among the companies, Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO +89.99 points), Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +83.47 points) and MCB Bank Limited (MCB +77.33 points) added maximum points to the index.
The cement sector added 4.54pc to its cumulative market capitalization, with Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +4.74pc), DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +3.73pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +7.19pc) closing with decent gains.
Similarly, the refinery sector gained 6.23pc in its total market capitalization. Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL +6.82pc), National Refinery Limited (NRL +7.49pc), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL +9.82pc) and Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BYCO +5.44pc) all closed with decent gains.
