KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended the last session before Eid holidays firmly in the green, as the benchmark KSE-100 index gained over 400 points by the close of trading.
Global equity markets, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction on Thursday, whereas crude oil prices also declined from the previous close; WTI crude oil price falling 1.57pc to $40.63 and Brent crude oil price shedding 1.29pc to $43.52.
It may be noted that the benchmark index has been performing exceptionally well for the last month or so, recording a monthly (July) return of 14.05pc and a weekly (27-30 July) return of 4.38pc.
“Rally in different sectors including power, cement, pharma, OMCs, refinery and banks helped the index post decent gains by the end of the session,” said a report issued by AHL Research. “Although the Privatization Commission’s plan to sell the shares of OGDC and PPL brought both the stocks down, it was not enough to dent the index today.”
MARKET SUMMARY
The KSE-100 Index remained in the green for almost the entire session, registering its intraday high at 39,270.46 after gaining 434.19 points. It ended higher by 422.17 points at 39,258.44.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index accumulated 780.92 points to close at 63,107.65, while the KSE All Share Index added 222.73 points, settling at 27,559.26. Of the total traded shares, 211 advanced and 126 declined.
The overall market volumes contracted from 508.22 million shares in the previous session to 368.70 million shares (-28pc). Average traded value also declined by 19pc, from $126.2 million to $102.2 million. Pakistan Int’l Bulk Terminal Ltd (PIBTL +5.83pc), TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +6.03pc) and Pak Elektron Ltd (PAEL +0.06pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 43.31 million, 27.91 million and 18.07 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that added positivity to the benchmark index included cement (75.11 points), banking (69.54 points) and fertiliser (54.14 points). Among the companies, Lucky Cement Ltd (LUCK 36.94 points), The Searle Company Ltd (SEARL 35.06 points) and Hub Power Company Ltd (HUBC 29.99 points) remained the top contributors.
Adding 4.32pc to its cumulative market capitalization, the automobile assembling sector emerged as the session’s top gainer, with Indus Motor Company (INDU 5.65pc), Honda Atlas Cars Ltd (HCAR 5.91pc) and Pak Suzuki Motors (PSMC 2.38pc) accumulating decent gains.
Meanwhile, Engro Fertilizer Limited (EFERT +2.45pc) announced its financial performance for the second quarter of FY20. The company’s revenue increased by 32pc YoY, while selling & distribution costs surged by 55pc. Its earnings per share declined from Rs3.51 in 2QFY19 to Rs3.00 in 2QFY20.
