KARACHI: Bullish trend prevailed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 managing to accumulate gains amid volatility.
“International crude price rebounded overnight for WTI to trade +15pc from its previous close; this helped the oil and gas stocks to hit upper circuits,” said an analyst at Arif Habib Ltd. “Sentiment on banking sector turned negative as the SBP directed the banks to conserve capital by not declaring dividends. On the other hand, the cement sector saw profit booking amid poor financial performance by some prominent players.”
The KSE-100 Index started the proceedings on a positive note, gaining 474.06 points to mark its intraday high at 32,938.29. After a brief tug of war between bulls and bears, the index manged to end higher by 386.60 points at 32,850.83.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index accumulated 1,319.08 points to settle at 52,570.37, while the KSE All Share Index added 325.09 points, closing at 23,211.98. Of the total traded shares, 151 advanced and 127 declined.
The overall market volumes declined from the previous session and were recorded at 204.35 million (traded value: Rs9.41bn). Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF -4.26pc), Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL +7.49pc) and Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL -0.18pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 25.62 million, 22.54 million and 12.23 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that kept the index from the red zone included oil & gas exploration (+265.48 points), oil & gas marketing (+73.64 points) and fertiliser (+64.76 points). Among the companies, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDC +92.30 points), Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL +84.28 points) and Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL +51.11 points) remained the top contributors to the index.
On the financial side, Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO +2.20pc) announced earnings per share of Rs1.35 for the first quarter of FY20, United Bank Limited (UBL +0.18pc) declared an EPS of Rs4.13 (along with a cash dividend of Rs2.50), while Pakistan Suzuki Motors Company Limited (PSMC +0.18pc) posted an EPS of Rs11.44.
Similarly, D G Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC -5.32pc) recorded an EPS of Rs-2.29 for the third quarter of FY20, Murree Brewery Company Limited (MUREB +0.74pc) published an EPS of Rs9.87 (along with cash dividend of Rs5.00), whereas Pak Petroleum Limited (PPL +7.41pc) declared an EPS of Rs5.40.
