KARACHI: The stock market gained 239 points on Tuesday owing to expected lower inflation and possible further rate cut.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 32,553 points as against 32,315 points showing an increase of 239 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market saw rebound of cement sector as the concerns over cement price / bag dissipated.
Upcoming data release on inflation and possible rate cut helped investors take a positive view on equities.
International crude oil prices edged lower, with WTI slipping below US$ 11/bbl that kept pressure on E&P stocks.
PSO, on the other hand, posted price gains during the session.
Banking sector stocks also saw selling pressure due to the view of rate cut.
Cement sector maintained top position in trading volumes with 59.6 million shares, followed by Vanaspati (20.5 million) and Banks (16.8 million).
Among scrips, MLCF led the trading volumes with 36.2 million shares, followed by UNITY (20.5 million) and DGKC (6.6 million).
Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (+92 points), Power (+45 points), Food (+45 points), Fertilizer (+31 points), O&GMCs (+21 points), Banks (-39 points).
Volumes increased from 122.2 million shares to 159.4 million shares (+29 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 10 percent to reach US$ 36.1 million as against US$ 33 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCF, UNITY, DGKC, BOP and HASCOL, which formed 48 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HUBC (+49 points), ENGRO (+36 points), LUCK (+33 points), NESTLE (+23 points) and PSO (+20 points).
Stocks that contributed negatively include BAFL (-23 points), UBL (-19 points), HBL (-14 points), DAWH (-13 points), and PAKT (-12 points).
