KARACHI: Indices of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) moved in a narrow range on Thursday, as the investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the government’s economic survey announcement.
“Cement, steel and textile stocks performed well today on back of positive expectations from the upcoming budget. However, the banking and exploration & production sectors remained under selling pressure throughout the day,” said a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd.
The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green zone for most of the session, registering its intraday high at 35,253.50 after gaining 188.42 points. However, it failed to maintain its flight and slipped 69.66 points to mark its intraday low at 34,995.42 by midday. The index finally settled flat (+63.50 points) at 35,128.58.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index gathered 306.41 points to close at 56,021.11, while the KSE All Share Index added 12.89 points, ending at 25,010.53. Of the total traded shares, 188 advanced and 121 declined.
The overall market volumes appreciated from 218.37 million shares in the previous session to 269.30 million shares (+24pc). Average traded value also increased by 9pc, from $48.3 million to $52.6 million. Power Cement Limited (POWER +4.61pc), TRG Pakistan Limited (TRG -0.49pc) and Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +1.17pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 19.23 million, 14.55 million and 10.80 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that contributed positively to the KSE-100 Index included fertilizer (+60.26 points), cement (+44.33 points) and investment banking (+24.06 points). Among the companies, Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH +26.84 points), Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC +24.73 points) and Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +24.61 points) helped the index close in green.
The cement sector added 1.43pc to its total market capitalization, with Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +1.83pc), DG Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +1.42pc) and Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +1.99pc) accumulating decent gains.
