Equity market gains 652 points on improved sentiments

Equity market gains 652 points on improved sentiments

KARACHI: The equity market gained 652 points on Tuesday on positive sentiments of investors regarding early release of IMF supported loan.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 31,232 points as against 30,579 points showing an increase of 652 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market opened on a positive note with +75 points and 0.8 million shares traded at the opening bell.

The index continued the surge throughout the session, increasing by 724 points during the day and ending the session +709 points.

Expectation of early release of COVID 19 financial assistance from IMF kept the mood elevated at the bourse, which was further aided by an uptrend in international crude prices (which gained another 3 percent over yesterday).

Besides E&P Stocks, Cement and Steel also rallied based on construction package announced last Friday. Cement sector led the volumes with 54.5 million shares, followed by O&GMCs (23.1 million) and Banks (21.4 million).

Among scrips, MLCF topped the charts with 20.4 million shares followed by HASCOL (19.8 million) and FFL (9.8 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+176 points), Cement (+120 points), Banks (+109 points), Power (+73 points) Fertilizer (+44 points).

Volumes declined from 233.3 million shares to 172.7 million shares (-26 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 23 percent to reach US$ 40.4 million as against US$ 52.2 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, HASCOL, FCCL, KEL, and PIOC, which formed 38 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include OGDC (+79 points), PPL (+70 points), HUBC (+69 points), HBL (+64 points) and LUCK (+54 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BAHL (-15 points), NBP (-9 points), THALL (-7 points), JDWS (-4 points), and MUREB (-4 points).