KARACHI: Stocks closed higher by 672 points on Tuesday amid institutional buying in blue-chip stocks following upbeat data on remittances.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index closed higher by 671.73 points or 0.85 per cent to 79,286.74 points against 78,615 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 79,335.59 points while the lowest level was recorded at 78,642.87 points.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed higher amid upbeat data on $2.9 billion remittances surging by 40 per cent YoY in August 24 and finance minister’s commitment to institutional reforms for the new IMF programme.”
He said speculations over the SBP’s key policy rate announcement on Sept 12, surging exports and expected resolve over the external financing gap played a catalyst role in the positive close.
The KSE-30 index decreased by 216.81 points or 0.87 per cent to 25,073.24 points against 24,856.43 points.Traded shares rose by 18 million shares to 509.49 million shares from 491.12 million shares. The trading value increased to Rs13.76 billion from Rs10.12 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs10.53 trillion against Rs10.45 trillion. Of the 436 companies active in the session, 202 closed in green, 170 in red and 64 remained unchanged.
Maaz Mulla, an analyst at Topline Securities, said the stock market surged by 671 points, or 0.85 per cent, closing at a robust level of 79,286. This upward momentum was driven by institutional buying in blue-chip stocks.
Key heavyweights such as EFERT, UBL, BAFL, LUCK, and HBL posted significant gains, collectively contributing to a remarkable 367-point rise.Investor interest was notably strong in the cement sector, ahead of the upcoming monetary policy meeting on September 12, where a rate cut is widely anticipated. Stocks such as FCCL (up 3.04 per cent), PIOC (up 2.81 per cent), LUCK (up 2.63 per cent), and MLCF (up 2.39 per cent) all closed higher than their previous day’s performance.
The highest increase was recorded in Hoechst Pakistan Limited, which rose by Rs137.38 to Rs2,069.23 per share, followed by Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which increased by Rs68.99 to Rs17,368.99 per share. A significant decline was noted in Hallmark Company Limited, which fell by Rs104.68 to Rs999.96 per share. Khyber Textile Mills Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs60.65 to Rs545.81 per share.
Analyst Mubashir Anis Naviwala at JS Research said the market opened on a positive note and maintained its upward momentum. However, trading volumes remained low, with activity mainly focused on smaller stocks.
“Going forward, we recommend investors adopt a buy-on-dips strategy, with emphasis on cement, automobile and technology sectors,” he said. WorldCall Telecom remained the volume leader with 117.01 million shares which closed higher by 6 paisas to Rs1.52 per share. Kohinoor Spinning followed it with 57.119 million shares, which closed higher by 43 paisas to Rs10.06 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included Agritech Limited, Pace (Pak) Ltd, Secure Logistics Gro, Symmetry Group Ltd, Fauji Cement, Dewan Motors, Yousuf Weaving and Maple Leaf. In the futures market, 333 companies recorded trading, of which 189 increased, 138 decreased and 6 remained unchanged.