KARACHI: Following the recent trend, indices of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued to move in a narrow range on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index recording modest gains after a good start to proceedings.
Foreign investors ended the last session (Wednesday) as net sellers, registering a net outflow of $4.08 million.
“Fertiliser sector played an important role in posting gains on the index today, primarily due to the government’s announcement of a ‘relief package’ for farmers,” said an analyst at Arif Habib. “Cement, steel, banks and exploration & production sectors, on the other hand, couldn’t excite the investors and remained range-bound.”
The KSE-100 Index gathered 303.88 points in early trade to record its intraday high at 33,996.92. It closed higher by 111.86 points at 33,804.90.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index accumulated 171.77 points to settle at 54,764.84, while the KSE All Share Index added 135.21 points to end at 24,019.98. Of the total traded shares, 174 advanced and 127 declined.
The overall volumes appreciated from 219.10 million shares in the previous session to 240.21 million. However, the average traded value declined by 25pc, from $51 million to $38.5 million.
TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG +6.86pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +2.82pc) and Agritech Limited (AGL +18.48pc) topped the volume chart, exchanging 20.95 million, 18.64 million and 14.80 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that kept the benchmark index in green included fertiliser (+79.59 points), investment banking (+31.26 points) and food & personal care (+26.66 points). Among the companies, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC +48.08 points), Nestle Pakistan Limited (NESTLE +26.16 points) and Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH +26.14 points) remained the top contributors.
The fertiliser sector added 1.94pc to its cumulative market capitalization following the Economic Coordination Committee’s approval of a multi-billion agriculture package for farmers. Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited (FATIMA +5.34pc), Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL +7.47pc), Engro Fertilizer Limited (EFERT +1.19pc) and Arif Habib Corporation Limited (AHCL +1.33pc) closed with decent gains.
