KARACHI: The stocks gained 291 points on Monday amid contraction in the trade deficit and recovery in rupee value last week.
The benchmark KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended at 44,887 points from last Friday’s closing of 44,996 points, showing an increase of 291 points.
READ MORE: KSE-100 index gains 180 points amid profit-taking
Analysts at Arif Habib Limited said that the market closed in the green zone today as the trade deficit declined to $4.1 billion during December 2021 and recovery in Pak Rupee against the dollar over last week.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s trade deficit swells by 100% in 1HFY22
The market opened with low volumes but the rally in cement stocks was initiated as international coal prices dropped for the third consecutive session.
CPI for the month of Dec 2021 clocked in at 12.28 per cent YoY, highest inflation in 22 months.
READ MORE: Headline inflation rises by 12.3% in December 2021
In the last trading hour, across the board buying was witnessed mainly in cyclical stocks. Activity continued to remain side-ways as the market witnessed hefty volumes in the 3rd tier stocks.
Sectors contributing to the performance include Fertilizer (+58 points), Cement (+54 points), Technology (+50 points), Engineering (+39 points) and Banks (+33 points).
READ MORE: Dollar retreats to year end at Rs176.51
Volumes decreased from 317.6 million shares to 195.2 million shares (-38.6 per cent DoD). Traded value also decreased by 39.8 per cent to reach US$ 36.9 million as against US$ 61.4 million.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include PIBTL, TPLP, GGL, FNEL and CNERGY.
