Pak Elektron was the volume leader with 26.67 million shares, gaining Rs0.83 to close at Rs50.10. PHOTO: INp
KARACHI: Backed by developments and anticipation of a discount-rate cut on the weekend, the index continued its march in the black to end positive for the fifth successive time.
At close on Tuesday, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index rose 0.31% or 107.04 points to close at 34,121.30.
Elixir Securities analyst Haris Ahmed Batla said the index was primarily driven by oil and textile sectors. While the former tracked global crude oil prices, the latter gained on news of developments on the textile policy.
“Nishat Mills (NML PA +1%) managed to end in the black, while spinning focused Nishat Chunian (NCL PA -3.4%) lost ground on week margins’ outlook,” said Batla.
“The wider market witnessed resistance with benchmark index falling below 34k intra-day but managed to rebound sharply over government’s efforts to resolve fuel shortages in the country, reviving institutional interest in oil marketing giant Pakistan State Oil (PSO PA +2.2%).
“Cements, namely DG Khan Cement (+3.7%) and Maple Leaf Cement (MLCF PA +3.9%), gained the limelight ahead of the monetary policy, as investors bet on a cut in the benchmark rates following improving macros and reported nod by IMF,” he added.
Meanwhile, JS Global analyst Muhammad Mobin said the star performer of the day was MLCF (+3.92%).
“An interest rate cut will be greatly beneficial for the company, which has a gearing ratio of 44.63%.”
“The OMC sector remained green with HASCOL (+5%) and PSO (+2.23%) rallying on the back of market expectation that the government will inject liquidity into the energy chain.
“We expect the bull-run to continue throughout the week, with banking and the cement as the favoured sectors,” said Mobin.
Trade volumes slightly rose to 315 million shares compared to 305 million on Monday.
Shares of 399 companies were traded on Tuesday. Of these, 207 companies declined, 172 closed higher and 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs18.7 billion.
Pak Elektron was the volume leader with 26.67 million shares, gaining Rs0.83 to close at Rs50.10. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 26.62 million shares, gaining Rs1.90 to close at Rs50.35 and Jahangir Siddiqui and Company with 16.17 million shares, losing Rs0.25 to close at Rs18.05.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs539 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2015.
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