LAHORE: Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index ended the session little changed at +39 points or 0.1 per cent after a long weekend. Activity thinned from Thursday’s MSCI rebalancing act, volumes dried up 47 per cent day on day basis while traded value plunged 71 per cent.
SNGP (+3.5 per cent) bounced back with a bang after fund managers panic sold on Thursday gave weak understanding and uncertainty arising from OGRA’s long-term gas sector reforms. ATRL (+2.8 per cent) also staged a recovery as anecdotal news regarding PSO’s (+1.2 per cent) off-take of fuel oil and resumption of Attock Gen did the rounds again.
Top index point contributors were OGDC (+2 per cent), PPL (+1.2 per cent), SNGP (+3.5 per cent), LUCK (+1.2 per cent) and UBL (+0.8 per cent) adding 116 points while HUBC (-2.6 per cent), HBL (-0.8 per cent), ENGRO (-1.1 per cent), MCB (-1 per cent) and TRG (-4.4 per cent), held back 108 points.
On the sector front; E&Ps contributed 75 points as oil prices are back near 2-year highs as OPEC extended oil cuts thru 2018, OMCs added 36 points, Cement 32 points, while Banks shed 46 points, Power 42 points, Fertilizer 26 points and Tech 16 points.
