KARACHI: The stock market increased by 76 points on Thursday amid profit taking during the day.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed at 37,243 points as against 37,167 points showing an increase of 76 points.
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market gained +340 points and closed the session +76 points. Cement, Steel, Autos and Fertilizer stayed in the limelight with buying activity, whereas E&P and blue chip banks faced selling pressure.
Concerns on political uncertainty caused the investors to be cautious of downward adjustment in the Index and preferred booking profits wherever they could.
A major chunk of trading volumes was generated in MLCF’s Right shares, which registered volume of 38.6 million shares (11.5 percent of total).
Prices of MLCF and its Right went down in initial trading but saw heavy buying activity that took the prices towards upper circuit. Cement sector led the volumes with 47.4 million shares, followed by Banks (36.1 million) and Engineering (31.9 million). Among scrips, MLCFR1 registered volume of 38.6 million, followed by BOP (17.6 million) and PAEL (16.3 million).
Sectors contributing to the performance include Autos (+40 points), Banks (+23 points), Cement (+23 points), Pharma (+17 points), Technology (+13 points), E&P (-33 points), and O&GMCs (-16 points).
Volumes increased from 275.4 million shares to 336 million shares (+22 percent DoD). Average traded value however, declined by 6 percent to reach US$ 65.4 million as against US$ 69.2 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include MLCFR1, BOP, PAEL, TRG and DSL, which formed 30 percent of total volumes.
Stocks that contributed positively include MEBL (+26 points), BAHL (+22 points), INDU (+16 points), MTL (+16 points) and DGKC (+12 points). Stocks that contributed negatively include HBL (-32 points), COLG (-12 points), OGDC (-11 points), POL (-9 points), and LUCK (-9 points).
