Stocks end week with gain of 139 points

KARACHI: Stocks closed higher by 139 points on Friday, the last session of the week, as investors weigh government deliberation over privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 share index increased by 138.55 points or 0.18 per cent to 78,488.22 points against 78,349.66 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 78,914.28 points while the lowest level was recorded at 78,439.62 points.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed higher as investors weigh government deliberation over privatization of SOEs, speculations on lower CPI inflation in August and Moody’s Ratings upgrade.”

He said a bull run in global equities; the government’s affirmation of a reduction in the power tariff by next year; and expectations over the resolution of external financing gaps played a catalyst role in the bullish close.

The KSE-30 index increased by 37.54 points or 0.15 per cent to 24,923.18 points against 24,885.64 points.Traded shares increased by 81 million shares to 680.810 million shares from 599.820 million shares. The trading value rose to Rs21.187 billion from Rs20.409 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs10.485 trillion against Rs10.447 trillion. Of 454 companies active in the session, 214 closed in green, 180 in red and 60 remained unchanged.

Nabeel Haroon, an analyst at Topline Securities, said the market largely traded in the positive zone during the trading session, as the index gained to make an intraday high of 564 points, however, some profit-taking was observed in the closing hours of trade as the index declined to close at the 78,488 level (up by 0.18 per cent).

Major positive contributions to the index came from EFERT, MTL, FFC, NBP and UBL, as they cumulatively contributed 239 points to the index, whereas HUBC, HBL, BAHL, PPL and BAFL lost value to weigh down on the index by 141 points.

The highest increase was recorded in Hallmark Company Limited, which rose by Rs73.27 to Rs806.01 per share, followed by Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which increased by Rs55.47 to Rs7,439.17 per share. A significant decline was noted in Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited, which fell by Rs82.09 to Rs17,498.93 per share; Sapphire Fibres Limited followed it, which closed lower by Rs69.43 to Rs1,500 per share.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd stated that the KSE-100 experienced a range-bound week, trading between 78,000 and 79,000 points, and ultimately closing down for the week. NBP (+5.42 per cent) continued to attract strong demand following the resolution of its long-standing pension dispute, leading to an increased December 2025 target price of Rs80.1.

Earlier in the week, Moody’s upgraded Pakistan’s credit rating, which was followed by upgrades for five Pakistani banks.Looking ahead, the outlook remains positive above the 78,000 level, with expectations for a move back towards the 80,000 mark.

Hascol Petrol remained the volume leader with 63.106 million shares, which closed higher by 65 paisas to Rs7.9 per share. Kohinoor Spinning followed it with 44.638 million shares, which closed higher by 15 paisas to Rs11.84 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included Symmetry Group Ltd, National Bank XD, Power Cement, Agha Steel, Dewan Motors, PIA Holding Company, WorldCall Telecom and Amtex Limited. In the futures market, 336 companies recorded trading, of which 149 increased, 179 decreased and 8 remained unchanged.