KARACHI: Bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday, with the indices accumulating gains all day long amid positive sentiments.
The performance of global equity markets, on the other hand, remained mixed, whereas crude oil prices slipped lower from the previous close; WTI crude price falling 1.81pc to $37.36 and Brent crude price declining 1.40pc to $40.20.
“The market rallied throughout the day in response to the launch of Roshan Digital Account for Non-Resident Pakistanis (NRP), which would facilitate investment by Pakistani diaspora in the PSX-listed shares as well as government-issued securities,” said a report issued by AHL Ltd. “Positive sentiments were seen across the board but investors took a greater liking for oil & gas marketing, exploration & production and banking stocks. The fertiliser sector also showed positivity as the high court granted a stay on GIDC collection.”
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green zone throughout the day, marking its intraday high at 42,896.36 after accumulating 874.11 points. It closed higher by 625.10 points at 42,647.35.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 index appreciated 983.24 points to end at 68,399.51, while the KSE All Share Index gained 517.80 points, settling at 30,380.36.
The overall market volumes jumped from 707.01 million shares in the previous session to 884.94 million shares (+25pc). Average traded value also increased by 27pc, from $128.1 million to $163.2 million. Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (PIBTL +4.41pc), Hascol Petroleum Ltd (HASCOL +1.56pc) and Worldcall Telecom (WTL +2.94pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 121.78 million, 48.05 million and 42.90 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that drove the benchmark index north included banking (173.16pts), cement (86.99pts) and oil & gas exploration (85.25pts). Among the companies, Lucky Cement Ltd (LUCK 62.89pts), MCB Bank Ltd (MCB 58.35pts) and Hub Power Company (HUBC 53.39pts) remained the top contributors.
Adding 2.74pc to its cumulative market capitalisation, the cement sector emerged as the session’s top gainer, with Lucky Cement (LUCK 3.34pc), DG Khan Cement (DGKC 1.68pc) and Bestway Cement (BWCL 5.51pc) posting decent gains.
Meanwhile, Matco Foods Ltd (MFL -4.32pc) announced its financial performance for FY20. The company’s sales appreciated by 44pc YoY while its cost of sales increased by 48pc, pushing the gross profit margin from 11.6pc in FY19 to 8.99pc. MFL’s earnigns per share contracted from Rs3.38 in FY19 to Rs1.24.
Also, the MFL Board of Directors passed a resolution to further invest up to Rs50 million in its associated company, Barentz Pakistan, to meet capital requirements.
