The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed positive in a low-volume session on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 139.33 points (+0.3 percent) to close at 46,079.37 points.
The market opened on a positive note but switched between the green and red territories. The investors adopted a dip-buying strategy following the cautious trend in Asian markets. The market remained range-bound throughout the session amid a lack of positive triggers. The number of companies whose share prices closed in red was more than those which registered an increase despite an overall positive closing.
An increase in international coal prices hit the cement sector, which remained under pressure. Moreover, PSO also stayed under pressure due to zero payout in the financial result. The major oil marketing company posted a healthy profit for the six months ended on December 31, 2021, which clocked in at Rs31.92 billion against Rs9.26 billion in the same period last year. The company’s earnings per share remained Rs68.2 per share against Rs19.93 per share during the same period last year.
The KSE-100 Index moved in a range of 305.16 points, showing an intraday high of 46,143.91 points and a low of 45,838.75 points. Among other indices, the KSE All Share Index gained 123.07 points (+0.39 percent) to close at 31,589.92 points, while KMI All Share Islamic Index gained 64.17 points (+0.28 percent) to close at 22,810.07 points.
A total of 363 companies traded shares in the stock exchange, out of them shares of 144 closed up, shares of 198 closed down while shares of 21 companies remained unchanged. Out of 97 traded companies in the KSE-100 Index, 45 closed up, 48 closed down and four remained unchanged.
The overall market volumes decreased by 115.34 million to 170.63 million shares. Total volumes traded for the KSE-100 Index remained 84.57 million. The number of total trades decreased by 23,752 to 95,079, while the value traded decreased by Rs1.55 billion to Rs7.72 billion. Overall, market capitalization increased by Rs29.82 billion.
Among scrips, KEL topped the volumes with 11.99 million shares, followed by WTL (11.43 million) and TRG (11.12 million). Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes included KEL, WTL, TRG, TELE, and TPLP, which formed over 28 percent of total volumes.
In terms of the rupee, RMPL remained the top gainer and witnessed an increase of Rs300 (2.83 percent) per share, closing at Rs10,900 whereas the runner-up was NESTLE, the share price of which climbed up by Rs100.09 (+1.82 percent) to Rs5,600.1. SFL remained the top loser in terms of rupee and witnessed a decrease of Rs74.62 (7.5 percent) per share, closing at Rs920.38, followed by ISIL, the share price of which declined by Rs43.58 (7.5 percent) to close at Rs537.69 per share.
