Benchmark index gains 66.17 points to finish at 42,912.81. PHOTO:FILE
Although trading began on a negative note, the mood soon changed as banking and refinery sectors lent support to the index. Clarity on the political front after Justice (Retired) Nasirul Mulk took oath as seventh caretaker prime minister also helped settle matters.
However, investors’ interest remained minimal and many stood on the sidelines.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 66.17 points or 0.15% to settle at 42,912.81.
JS Global analyst Danish Ladhani said equities closed the day with almost insignificant gains after remaining sideways and the KSE-100 Index ended at 42,913. The market hit a high and low of +123 points and -97 points, respectively.
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“On the political front, after completing its five-year constitutional term, the National Assembly stopped functioning on May 31 while the Election Commission of Pakistan announced that general elections would be held on July 25,” said Ladhani.
On the economic front, General Electric is expected to finish refurbishing work on 1,000 megawatts of Mangla hydroelectric power plants in the next five years, which will lead to 35% increase in the power station’s production capacity.
Major heavyweights Oil and Gas Development Company (-0.30%), Pak Petroleum (-0.18%), Pakistan Oilfields (-0.73%), Lucky Cement (-0.13%) and Fauji Fertilizer Company (-0.21%) cumulatively contributed -20 points.
From the financial sector, Habib Bank (+1%), MCB Bank (+0.72%) and Bank AL Habib (+1.07%) closed in the green zone.
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“Moving forward, we expect the market to remain sideways with flows from local and foreign institutions guiding direction,” the analyst added.
Overall, trading volumes decreased to 59.23 million shares compared with Thursday’s tally of 142.6 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.06 billion.
Shares of 307 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 142 stocks closed higher, 147 declined while 18 remained unchanged.
Dolmen City REIT (XD) was the volume leader with 12.3 million shares, losing Rs0.13 to close at Rs13.15. It was followed by Pak Elektron with 4.4 million shares, losing Rs0.39 to close at Rs38.11 and TRG Pakistan with 2.97 million shares, losing Rs0.42 to close at Rs28.36.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of Rs7.9 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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