KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) was back on track on Tuesday, as bulls re-appeared to take control of the market after a day of consolidation.
Equity markets around the globe displayed a mixed performance, whereas crude oil prices slipped lower from the previous close; WTI crude price dropping 0.03pc to $60.62, while Brent crude price falling 0.22pc to $63.55 (as at 3:48pm PST).
“The market bounced back today prior to the Senate elections, which are of great importance for the incumbent government. Following the announcement of financial results by majority of companies, investors have now started booking profits on long held positions. However, prospects of release of funds on account of circular debt resolution prompted investors to take positions in energy chain (O&GMCs and power). Buying activity was also observed in banking, steel, refinery and textile sectors,” a report issued by Arif Habib Ltd read.
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 Index stayed in the green throughout the day, registering its intraday high at 46,077.92 after gaining 484.49 points. It settled higher by 370.84 points at 46,077.92.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index accumulated 403.42 points to end at 76,406.01, while the KSE All Share Index gathered 265.24 points, closing at 31,534.49.
The overall market volumes inched up from 368.33 million shares in the previous session to 398.50 million shares (+8pc). Average traded value also increased by 25pc, from $116.5 million to $145.5 million. TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +4.60pc), Azgard Nine Ltd (ANL +4.65pc) and Aisha Steel Mills Ltd (ASL +7.02pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 38.33 million, 31.31 million and 29.53 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that painted the benchmark index green included banking (+119.21 points), technology & communication (+58.44 points) and oil & gas marketing (+55.34 points). Among the companies, TRG Pakistan Ltd (TRG +61.32 points), Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd (PSO +35.20 points) and Hub Power Company Ltd (HUBC +29.44 points) remained the top contributors.
Adding 2.62pc to its cumulative market capitalization, oil & gas marketing sector ended as the session’s top performer, with PSO (+3.30pc), SNGPL (+7.48pc) and SSGC (+5.85pc) posting significant gains.
Meanwhile, Shell Pakistan Ltd (SHEL +0.31pc) announced its financial performance for FY20. The company’s sales declined by 17.31pc YoY, which resulted in gross profit contracting by 50pc. SHEL’s loss per share fell further from Rs13.88 in FY19 to Rs45.05 in FY20.
