Stock market gains 570 points as major activity seen in banks

Stock market gains 570 points as major activity seen in banks

KARACHI: The stock market gained 570 points on Tuesday as banking sector performed well on upcoming inflations numbers and monetary policy announcement.

The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 40,863 points as against 40,293 points showing an increase of 570 points.

Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market continued the ascent from yesterday’s level. Banking sector performed well today, which brought the index to higher level.

Expectation of high CPI, scheduled to be announced next week and monetary policy decision in September are the major reasons for brisk activity in Banking sector.

Announcement of POL’s financial results with high dividend payout resulted in POL reaching a new high.

Overall, E&P stocks posted gains on the index. Refinery sector posted highest trading volumes with 65.9 million shares, followed by Cement (62.2 million) and O&GMCs (53.5 million). Among scrips, PRL topped the volumes with 48.9 million shares, followed by HASCOL (36.1 million) and KAPCO (18.5 million).

Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+205 points), E&P (+86 points), Fertilizer (+55 points), Textile (+46 points) and Power (+38 points).

Volumes declined from 535.1 million shares to 508.0 million shares (-5 percent DoD). Average traded value however increased by 6 percent to reach US$ 127.8 million as against US$ 120.8 million.

Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include PRL, HASCOL, KAPCO, MLCF and TRG, which formed 27 percent of total volumes.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index include HBL (+124 points), MCB (+61 points), UBL (+48 points), POL (+41 points) and ENGRO (+37 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include BAFL (-35 points), NESTLE (-11 points), ABL (-8 points), PMPK (-6 points) and PSEL (-5 points).