KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) moved in narrow range on Wednesday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index managing to close in green despite losing its way in the middle hours.
Equity markets around the world showed a positive trend, whereas crude oil prices headed north from the previous close; WTI crude price appreciating 0.43pc to $39.97 while Brent crude price increasing 0.53pc to $41.94.
“While exploration & production sector saw a retreat in OGDC and PPL, which has been the case for several sessions on the back of weak crude oil prices, the banking sector saw renewed buying activity, especially in HBL and BOP,” said a report issued by AHL Ltd. “Among oil marketing companies, PSO and HASCOL performed well. Besides, cement also showed positive activity in anticipation of healthy dispatches in the ongoing month.”
MARKET DAILY
The KSE-100 Index swayed in both directions on Wednesday, registering its intraday high at 42,023.06 (+194.15 points) and intraday low at 41,755.69 (-73.22 points). It ended higher by 47.35 points at 41,876.26.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index dropped 146.06 points to close at 67,040.38, while the KSE All Share Index gained 20.36 points, settling at 29,754.55.
The overall market volumes surged from 441.28 million shares in the last session to 582.79 million shares (+32pc). Average traded value, however, dropped by 1pc, from $77.9 million to $77.5 million. Silk Bank Limited (SILK +6.00pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +0.33pc) and Jahanghir Siddiqui & Company Limited (JSCL +7.47pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 167.49 million, 51.81 million and 36.25 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that helped the benchmark index close in green included textile composite (29.77 points), investment banking (19.05 points) and oil & gas marketing (17.39 points). Among the companies, Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH 23.29 points), Colgate – Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited (COLG +15.75 points) and Interloop Limited (ILP 13.19 points) remained the top contributors.
Adding 0.84pc to its total market capitalization, the oil & gas marketing sector emerged as the session’s top gainer, with Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Ltd (SNGP 1.63pc), Shell Pakistan Ltd (SHEL 2.09pc) and Attock Petroleum Ltd (APL 1.20pc) posting decent gains.
Meanwhile, NetSol Technologies Ltd (NETSOL -7.29pc) announced its financial performance for FY20. The company’s sales declined 12.5pc YoY, while ‘other income’ was down 49pc. Its earnings per share contracted from Rs13.86 in FY19 to Rs2.73 in FY20.
