Market watch: KSE-100 powers past 45,000, ends fourth session in the black

Benchmark index increases 384.27 points to close at 45,030.22

KARACHI: The stock market enjoyed another positive session on Thursday as it got support from active buying and the benchmark index crossed the 45,000 barrier to finish the fourth successive session in the black.

The momentum, generated by the rupee's sharp depreciation on Tuesday, continued for the third day.

The KSE-100 Index gained points in the first hour of trading, but later it skidded off track to trade at lower levels around 44,700. Soon after, investors jumped in to buy stocks at attractive valuations, which propelled the index to an intra-day high of 45,032.41 points.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 384.27 points or 0.86% to settle at 45,030.22.

Elixir Securities' analyst Zainul Abedin said Pakistan equities extended their gains for the fourth consecutive session with the benchmark index settling above 45,000.



"The day kicked off on a positive note with select blue chips carrying the bullish momentum from late Wednesday trading, but a midday blip wiped out all the early gains," he said.

The market later recovered the lost ground, driven mainly by sharp gains in cement stocks (+2.6%). Notable names were Lucky Cement (+3.1%), DG Khan Cement (+2.9%) and Kohat Cement (+5%) that saw strong institutional flows.

Fertiliser stocks (+1.7%), financial stocks (+1.1%) and exploration and production stocks (+0.7%) contributed to the day's gains while independent power producers (-0.5%) and gas utilities (-0.5%) closed lower.



"With the market approaching its previous high point of 45,500, chartists see near-term consolidation," he added.

Overall, trading volumes increased to 228 million shares compared with Wednesday's tally of 207 million.

Shares of 393 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 202 stocks closed higher, 171 declined while 20 remained unchanged. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.4 billion.

TRG Pakistan was the volume leader with 22.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.58 to close at Rs38.90. It was followed by Lotte Chemical with 15.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.08 to close at Rs10.45 and Fauji Foods with 12.5 million shares, gaining Rs1.44 to close at Rs34.22.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs1.07 billion worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.