KARACHI: Positive sentiments continued to surround the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday, with the indices moving north all-day long and volumes breaching the 400 million-mark yet again.
After ending four of the five sessions in green, the benchmark KSE-100 Index gained 3.15pc during the ongoing week.
Global equity markets, on the other hand, displayed a negative trend on Friday, with crude oil prices also slipping lower from the last close; WTI crude price declined 0.76pc to $40.45, while Brent crude price fell by 0.85pc to $43.00.
“The refinery sector led the rally at PSX, with Pakistan Refinery Ltd and National Refinery Ltd hitting upper circuits following the news of recent disruption in oil supplies,” said a report issued by AHL Ltd. “Steel sector also performed well on expectations of an increase in steel prices.”
The banking sector, however, remained muted throughout the session.
MARKET SUMMARY
In line with the recent trend, the KSE-100 Index remained in the green throughout the day, recording its intraday high at 37,354.15 after gaining 352.71 points. It closed higher by 329.41 points at 37,330.85.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index accumulated 376.68 points to end at 60,264.78, while the KSE All Share Index gathered 279.30 points, settling at 26,741.21. Of the total traded shares, 236 advanced and 94 declined.
The overall market volumes improved further from 402.55 million shares in the last session to 466.04 million shares. Average traded value, however, declined by 2pc, from $96 million to $94.6 million. Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL +1.59pc), Lotte Chemical Pakistan Limited (LOTCHEM +6.83pc) and Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +5.96pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 87.26 million, 24.86 million and 22.15 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that painted the benchmark index green included investment banking (+59.60 points), fertilizer (+52.49 points) and power generation & distribution (+39.53 points). Among the companies, Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd (DAWH +57.65 points), Engro Corp (ENGRO +48.27 points) and Hub Power Company (HUBC +41.81 points) remained the top contributors.
Adding 7.06pc to its cumulative market capitalization, the refinery sector ended as the session’s top gainer, with Byco Petroleum Pakistan Limited (BYCO +6.82pc), Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL +8.04pc), National Refinery Limited (NRL +7.50pc) and Attock Refinery Limited (ATRL +7.02pc) posting decent gains.
Meanwhile, Hascol Petroleum Limited (HASCOL +1.59pc) declared its financial performance for FY19. The company reported a gross loss of Rs1.85 billion, as distribution cost surged by 15.24pc YoY and other expenses increased from Rs1.09 billion in FY18 to Rs8.79 billion. The company’s earnings per share deteriorated from Rs-1.08 last year to Rs-129.94.
