KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a choppy session on Friday, as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines ahead of Financial Action Task Force’s announcement on Pakistan’s performance.
Global equity markets mostly showed a positive trend, whereas crude oil prices inched up from the previous close; WTI crude price rising 0.22pc to $40.73 while Brent crude price increasing 0.33pc to $42.60.
“The index moved in a narrow range today, with the indices swaying both ways owing to mixed expectations regarding FATF announcement (due today at 7pm),” said a report issued by AHL Ltd. “Financial results helped improve the investor sentiment, but persistent selling in banks and exploration & production sectors kept the index in check.”
MARKET SUMMARY
The benchmark KSE-100 Index remained volatile throughout the session, touching its intraday high at 41,383.38 (+184.36 points) and intraday low at 41,064.38 (-134.64 points). It finally settled higher by 66.98 points at 41,266.00. On a week-on-week basis, the benchmark index recorded an increase of 2.74pc.
Among other indices, the KMI-30 Index gained 299.12 points to close at 65,934.72, while the KSE All Share Index added 72.05 points, ending at 29,118.26.
The overall market volumes contracted from 500.09 million shares in the previous session to 354 million shares (-29pc). Average traded value also declined by 10pc, from $107.2 million to $96.8 million. Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (MLCF +3.61pc), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL +7.48pc) and Unity Foods Ltd (UNITY -1.93pc) led the volume chart, exchanging 45.76 million, 27.94 million and 24.27 million shares, respectively.
Sectors that kept the benchmark index afloat included cement (+117.06 points), insurance (+21.04 points) and fertilizer (+17.83 points). Among the companies, Lucky Cement Ltd (LUCK +31.03 points), Engro Corporation Ltd (ENGRO +26.23 points) and Cherat Cement Company Ltd (CHCC +23.66 points) remained the top contributors.
Adding 3.08pc to its cumulative market capitalization, the cement sector ended as the session’s top performer, with Bestway Cement Ltd (BWCL +4.80pc), Lucky Cement Ltd (LUCK +1.62pc) and DG Khan Cement Company Ltd (DGKC +1.16pc) posting decent gains.
On the financial side, Murree Brewery Company Ltd (MUREB -0.07pc) declared earnings per share of Rs12.91 for the first quarter of FY21 (Rs13.55 last year); Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (MLCF +3.53pc) recorded an EPS of Rs0.28 (Rs1.87 in 1QFY20); Pak Petroleum Ltd (PPL -1.38pc) announced an EPS Rs5.27 for 1QFY21 (Rs5.23 last year); whereas DG Khan Cement Company Ltd (DGKC +1.45pc) posted an EPS of Rs0.80 for 1QFY21 (Rs3.26 last year).
