ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday achieved another historic milestone as the KSE-100 index surged to a record high of 118,367.8 points during intra-day trading before settling with a modest gain of 111 points.
The stock market swung in both directions during the day and closed at 117,119.66 points with a positive change of 0.10 percent.
Overall, 1,037,862,969 shares were entertained during the day as compared to 956,274,456 shares the last trading day, whereas the price of shares stood at Rs 46.570 billion against Rs.46.440 billion on the previous working day.
As many as 464 companies transacted their shares in the stock market, 193 of them registered gains and 225 sustained losses, whereas the share price of 46 companies remained unchanged.
The three top trading companies were Fauji Foods Limited with 89,478,727 shares at Rs 19.24 per share, followed by WorldCall Telecom with 72,001,410 shares at Rs.1.79 per share whereas Telecard Limited settled with 61,073,411 shares at Rs.10.52 per share.
Hallmark Company Limited registered a maximum increase of Rs.85.23 per share price, closing at Rs 1,091.40, whereas Excide Pakistan Limited was the runner-up with a Rs 80.86 rise in its per share price to Rs.889.49.
Indus Motor Company Limited witnessed a maximum decline of Rs 96.96 per share closing at Rs 2,036.49 followed by Sazgar Engineering Works Limited with a fall of Rs 29.34 to close at Rs.1,102.33.
Experts credited the initial buying momentum to stronger macroeconomic indicators, such as a drop in the inflation rate, which fuelled optimism for additional cuts in the policy rate.
“CPI for December 2024 came in at an encouraging 4.1% (the lowest since April 2018), as macroeconomic stabilization under IMF directives continues to take root,” said Intermarket Securities, in a note.
“Equities, especially cyclicals, should remain an attractive vehicle for investment as the lagged impact of interest rate cuts gradually leads to improvements in consumption and industrial output going forward.”
On Wednesday, PSX kicked off the new year with a bang, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index settled above the 117,000 level after a gain of nearly 1,900 points.
