Stock market gains 231 points on positivity in banking, energy sectors

Stock market gains 231 points on positivity in banking, energy sectors

KARACHI: The stock market gained 231 points on Tuesday as investors have showing positive sentiments in banking and energy sectors.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 39,863 points as against 39,632 points showing an increase of 231 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market traded in the positive zone today, even though Government announced lock down and School closures yesterday.

Consistent increase in international crude oil prices helped E&P stocks stage a comeback, whereas Banks and O&GMCs also traded positively for most part of the session.

Cement sector saw selling pressure, which came on the back of anticipation of slow growth in Cement dispatches due to winter season.

The underlying Cement sector stocks saw trading at discount of 12 percent to 18 percent from their respective recent peaks.

By the end of session, renewed buying interest was seen in Cement sector, which brought the index up, closing +231 points. Trading volumes remained below 200 million.

Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+67 points), Banks (+41 points), Fertilizer (+26 points), Technology (+22 points) and O&GMCs (+18 points).

Volumes declined from 174.7 million shares as against 195.1 million shares (-11 percent DoD). Average traded value also declined by 9 percent to reach US$ 42.4 million as against US$ 46.7 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include UNITY, MLCF, TRG, HUMNL and PRL, which formed 37 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include POL (+23 points), DAWH (+18 points), MARI (+18 points), LUCK (+16 points) and OGDC (+16 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include COLG (-6 points), INDU (-6 points), DGKC (-5 points), ENGRO (-4 points) and MLCF (-4 points).