KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed another session of volatile activity on Thursday as selling pressure eroded most of the gains accumulated by indices in early trade.
Global equity markets, on the other hand, displayed a negative trend, whereas crude oil prices headed south from the previous close; WTI oil price falling 0.02pc to $40.15 while Brent crude price declining 0.02pc to $42.21.
In line with this week’s trend, the benchmark KSE-100 Index moved in a narrow range, touching its intraday high at 42,632.41 (+350.13 points) and intraday low at 42,276.59 (-5.69 points). It settled higher by 52.48 points at 42,334.76.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index gained 236.10 points to close at 67,899.03, while the KSE All Share Index added 23.06 points, ending at 30,065.22.
The overall market volumes surged from 489.60 million shares in the previous session to 508.69 million shares (+4pc). Average traded value also increased by 3pc, from $87.9 million to $90.8 million. Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTC +8.83pc), Unity Foods Limited (UNITY +3.19pc) and (HASCOL -1.38pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 78.66 million, 45.25 million and 35.00 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that kept the benchmark in green included chemical (+22.98 points), technology & communication (+16.55 points) and oil & gas exploration sector (+14.15 points). Among the companies, Engro Polymer and Chemicals Ltd (EPCL 19.35 points), Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (POL 14.23 points) and Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (12.72 pts) remained the top contributors.
Adding 22.87pc to its cumulative market capitalisation, the technology & communication sector emerged as the session’s top gainer, with NetSol Technologies Ltd (NETSOL 8.83pc), Worldcall Telecom (WTL 2.38pc) and TPL Trakker Ltd (TPLT 1.69pc) posting decent gains.
Meanwhile, DG Khan Cement Company (DGKC +0.88pc) reported a loss for the first time since 2008. The company’s sales declined by 6pc YoY in FY20, while the cost of sales inflated by 3.67pc, pushing the gross profit down by 70pc YoY.
