ISLAMABAD: Positive momentum returned at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining over 1,450 points on Thursday.
Buying was observed in key sectors including automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertilizer, oil and gas exploration companies, OMCs and refinery. Index-heavy stocks including PRL, HUBCO, PSO, SNGPL, MARI, OGDC, HBL, NBP and UBL traded in the green.
Investors are closely monitoring the ongoing discussions between Pakistani authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about the first review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
If the review is approved by the IMF board, it could release another tranche of funding for Pakistan, which is facing financial strain, ahead of the country’s annual budget, presented in June.
On Thursday a total of 373,093,763 shares were entertained during the day as compared to 263,963,740 shares the last working day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 26.249 billion against Rs 13.731 billion on the previous trading day.
As many as 441 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 220 of them registered gains, and 142 met losses, whereas the share price of 79 companies remained unchanged.
dailystockmktThe three top trading companies were Pak International Bulk with 48,305,211 shares at Rs 10.06 per share followed by Fauji Cement with 28,192,754 shares at Rs 42.02 per share whereas WorldCall Telecom settled with 22,575,994 shares at Rs 1.36 per share.
Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited witnessed a maximum increase of Rs 167.51 per share closing at Rs 23,169.00 whereas Pakistan State Oil Company Limited was the runner-up with Rs 18.92 increase in its share price to close at Rs 344.60.
Nestle Pakistan Limited witnessed a maximum decline of Rs 137.18 per share price, closing at Rs 7,362.02, whereas the runner-up was Ismail Industries Limited with a drop of Rs 8671 in its per share price to Rs 1,803.69.
On Wednesday, the PSX benchmark KSE-100 dropped by 490 points, as selling in the second half of the session wiped out nearly 600 points of intra-day gains.
Globally, Asian stocks climbed on Thursday as investors remained optimistic that trade tensions might ease after U.S. President Donald Trump granted a one-month tariff exemption to automakers. Meanwhile, the euro remained strong ahead of the European Central Bank’s policy meeting.
