KARACHI: Bullish run at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued unabated on Thursday, as equities rallied all day long to help the index post significant gains.
Global equity markets also showed a positive trend, whereas crude oil prices inched further up from the previous close; WTI crude price rising 0.42pc to $48.03 while Brent crude price appreciating 0.33pc to $51.25 (at 3:49pm PST).
“The market traded in the positive for the entire session, mainly on the back of a consistent increase in international crude oil prices, helping OGDC and PPL ramp up significant trading volumes. Among others, fertilizers performed well on the back of input tax adjustment, whereas late rally in HBL saw the banking sector gain reasonable territory,” a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read.
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained in the green throughout the day, registering intraday high at 43,793.22 (+433.03 points). It settled higher by 406.50 points at 43,766.69.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index accumulated 1,032.48 points to end at 71,747.61, while the KSE All Share Index added 295.67 points, closing at 30,674.64.
The overall market volumes increased from 433.00 million shares in the previous session to 497.50 million shares (+15pc). Average traded value also rose by 5pc, from $133.5 million to $140.8 million. Pak Elektron Ltd (PAEL +5.39pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL +4.29pc) and K-Electric Ltd (KEL +4.92pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 30.35 million, 23.92 million and 15.48 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that painted the benchmark index green included banking (+91.19 points), oil & gas exploration (+64.80 points) and fertilizer (+61.01 points). Among the companies, Habib Bank Ltd (HBL +44.20 points), Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL +32.33 points) and Engro Corporation Ltd (ENGRO +26.75 points) remained the top contributors.
Adding 3.99pc to its cumulative market capitalization, the refinery sector ended as the session’s top performer, with Attock Refinery Ltd (ATRL +7.43pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL +7.38pc) and National Refinery Ltd (NRL +7.50pc) accumulating decent gains.
