KARACHI: After two lacklustre sessions, bullish sentiment prevailed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 managing to sustain gains and closing in the green.
Foreign investors offloaded equities worth Rs1.88 million in the previous session (Monday).
According to analysts, the index remained in the positive territory due to the expectation of a further rate cut in the monetary policy, to be announced by the State Bank of Pakistan later this week. Besides, they said, the government’s announcement that all preparation work for Diamer-Bhasha Dam has been completed and the project was ready for construction also attracted investors to the bourse.
“Cement and steel sectors ruled the index today, mostly trading near upper circuits and generating higher trading volumes on expectation that the government’s decision would generate demand for cement/steel in the country,” said an analyst at Arif Habib Ltd. “Banking and oil & gas sector stocks, on the other hand, couldn’t generate much interest among investors.”
The KSE-100 Index accumulated gains throughout the day, registering its intraday high at 33,628.37 (+344.58). It closed higher by 319.23 points at 33,603.02.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index amassed 621.73 points to settle at 54,660.28, while the KSE All Share Index added 165.35 points to end at 23,831.96. Of the total traded shares, 181 advanced while 111 remained unchanged.
The overall market volumes appreciated from 198.24 million in the last session to 224.53 million. Average traded value also increased by 68pc to 45.9 million, as against $27.4 million in the previous session. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +6.74pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY -2.28pc) and Fauji Cement Company Limited (FCCL +6.61pc) topped the volume chart, exchanging 28.74 million, 23.14 million and 19.07 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that brought positivity to the KSE-100 Index included cement (+150.05 points), banking (+67.40 points) and fertilizer (+61.83 points). Among the companies, Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +49.56 points), Engro Corporation Limited (ENGRO +31.32 points), and Habib Bank Limited (HBL +28.86 points) remained the top contributors.
Cement sector ended as the top gainer of the day, accumulating 5.53pc in its total market capitalization. Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +4.00pc), DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +6.91pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +6.74pc), Pioneer Cement Limited (PIOC +7.32pc) recorded decent gains.
