KARACHI: Trading at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) remained range-bound on Friday, with the indices oscillating in both directions before settling in the green.
It may be noted that the PSX has been hovering in the positive territory since June 26th, following the surprise State Bank policy rate cut by 100 basis points. In the last 11 sessions, the domestic equity bourse has risen by 7.3pc (+2,471 points). For the outgoing week, the benchmark KSE-100 Index registered a gain of 3.25pc.
“Profit booking was observed in banking, pharma, exploration & production, oil & gas marketing and fertiliser stocks, whereas cement and steel sectors furthered their positive momentum on Friday,” said a report issued by AHL Research. “The expectation of an announcement by the prime minister with regard to a housing scheme, along with financing through banks, encouraged institutional investors to increase positions in the cement sector.”
Losing 138.99 points in early trade, the KSE-100 Index recorded its intraday low at 36,003.18. The index, however, changed its direction thereon, recovering all the losses to touch its intraday high at 36,279.56 (+139 points). It finally settled flat (+48.23 points) at 36,190.40.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index added 56.51 points to close at 57,654.37, while the KSE All Share Index gathered 26.53 points, ending at 25,841.82. Of the total traded shares, 143 advanced and 159 declined.
The overall market volumes declined from 467.5 million shares in the previous session to 293 million shares (-38pc). Average traded value also plunged by 39pc, from $94.1 million to $57.6 million. Unity Foods Ltd (UNITY -1.25pc), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (MLCF +3.24pc) and TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG -3.08pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 27.98 million, 24.64 million and 14.25 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that rescued the benchmark index from bears included cement (+47.95 points), banking (+40.17 points) and fertiliser (+16.22 points). Among the companies, Lucky Cement (LUCK +21.55 points), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP +17.27 points) and Engro Corporation (ENGRO +14.96 points) remained the top contributors to the index.
Adding 1.19pc to its cumulative market capitalization, the cement sector emerged as the session’s top gainer, with Lucky Cement Ltd (LUCK +1.53pc), Fauji Cement Company Ltd (FCCL +1.64pc) and Cherat Cement Company Limited (CHCC +1.43pc) ending with decent gains.
Meanwhile, Worldcall Telecom (WTL -4.72pc) declared its financial performance for FY19. The company’s direct cost declined by 22pc YoY, while finance cost surged by 111.50pc YoY. As a result, the company’s profit after tax declined by 84pc from last year. Its earnings per share, on the other hand, turned positive from Rs-0.18 to Rs0.04.
