KARACHI: Maintaining the upward momentum, stocks closed above the 83k mark for the first time amid falling bank lending rates.The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share index increased by 810.19 points or 0.98 per cent to 83,531.96 points against 82,721.77 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 83,605.73 points while the lowest level was recorded at 82,594.80 points.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed at historic highs led by blue chip scrips across the board amid speculations in the earnings season and falling bank lending rates.”
He said that higher global crude oil prices, dismissal of mini budget on strong tax collections, improving Pakistan-India relations, projections for over $27 billion SIFC projects and FX reserves soaring to $10.7 billion played a catalyst role in the bullish close.
The KSE-30 index increased by 327.99 points or 1.24 per cent to 26,710.12 points against 26,382.13 points.Traded shares increased by 62 million shares to 381.529 million shares from 319.879 million shares. The trading value rose to Rs20.523 billion from Rs16.414 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs10.879 trillion against Rs10.782 trillion. Of the 444 companies active in the session, 201 closed in green, 167 in red and 76 remained unchanged.
Nabeel Haroon, an analyst at Topline Securities, said the KSE-100 Index extended its gain where index increased by 810 points to close at the 83,532 level (up by 0.98 per cent). “This gain can be attributed to decline in yields in secondary market on government bills (T-bill and PIB) and investor interest in the E&P sector following the dispatch of PPL financials to the exchange where the key takeaway was that the cash collection ratio of the company has improved to 81 per cent in FY24 as compared to 53 per cent in FY23 due to an upward revision in gas prices,” he said.
Major positive contributions to the index came from PPL, OGDC, MEBL, LUCK and POL, which contributed 517 points. The highest increase was recorded in Hallmark Company Limited, which rose by Rs91.85 to Rs1,175.34 per share, followed by Sapphire Fibres Limited, which increased by Rs79 to Rs1,349 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs87.87 to Rs17,412.13 per share. Zil Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs16.80 to Rs218.34 per share. Mohammed WaqarIqbal, an analyst at JS Research, stated that the session saw broad-based buying, with notable participation from investors in the E&P and fertilizer sectors throughout the day. Treasury yields dropped significantly in both the recent auctions and secondary markets, reflecting growing investor confidence.
“Looking ahead, the textile and auto sectors appear attractive for investment. We recommend investors to view any dips as opportunities to buy,” he recommended. Pace (Pak) Ltd remained the volume leader with 59.298 million shares which closed higher by 88 paisas to Rs6.29 per share. Pak Petroleum followed it with 21.636 million shares, which closed higher by Rs7.14 to Rs118.60 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included Kohinoor Spinning, Air Link Commun, WorldCall Telecom, Fauji Cement XD, Oil & Gas Dev, Hub Power Co XD, Flying Cement and Lalpir Power. In the futures market, 313 companies recorded trading, of which 159 increased, 146 decreased and 8 remained unchanged.