KARACHI: The stock market gained 322 points on Thursday due to enhanced activity in cement sector following inauguration of Bhasha Dam, analysts said.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,001 points as against 36,679 points showing an increase of 322 points.
The analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the benchmark KSE100 index topped 37,000 today by posting gains of 350 points during the session and ended at +322 points.
Overall volumes also crossed 400 million shares mark. Cement sector rallied on the back of recent inauguration of Bhasha Dam and optimism with respect to Housing Scheme.
PPL posted further gains for the third session in a row with high volumes. Foreign investor has largely been a major seller, whereas among local investors Insurance Companies and HNIs have taken the majority of float.
Among Banking sector, HBL showed improvement by the end of session, however, small cap banks remained in the limelight in terms of volumes.
Cement sector led the volumes with 66.5 million shares, followed by Technology (52.4 million) and Banks (51.1 million). Among scrips, JSBL topped the volumes with 31.6 million shares, followed by MLCF (24.8 million) and PAEL (24.1 million).
Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+66 points), Cement (+65 points), Banks (+46 points), Auto Assembler (+41 points) and Auto Parts (+24 points).
Volumes increased from 328.4 million shares to 402.4 million shares (+23 percent DoD). Average traded value also increased by 13 percent to reach US$ 96.2 million as against US$ 84.8 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include JSBL, MLCF, PAEL, HASCOL and PPL, which formed 30 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively to the index include LUCK (+38 points), PPL (+37 points), HBL (+32 points), THALL (+18 points) and MTL (+16 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include COLG (-13 points), BAFL (-8 points), HASCOL (-6 points), EFUG (-5 points), and CHCC (-4 points).
