Market watch: Stocks extend rally amid improved sentiments

Benchmark index rises 490.10 points to settle at 39,052.50

KARACHI: The stock market had another round of bullish trading as positive sentiments from the previous day spilled over into Tuesday's session, which pushed the benchmark index above the 39,000-point barrier.

The KSE-100 index shot up from the moment trading began and continued to march north. Improved investor confidence propelled the index, which advanced nearly 600 points in intra-day trading. Later, some selling dragged the index lower but the market still ended the day deep in the black.

At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 490.10 points or 1.27% to settle at 39,052.50.

Elixir Securities' analyst Murtaza Jafar said equities extended gains with the KSE-100 index settling above 39,000 after hitting an intra-day high of 39,148.



"A recent rally in international oil prices generated investors' interest, leading to a sharp recovery in oil stocks namely Oil and Gas Development Company (+2.99%), Pakistan Oilfields (+2.74%) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (+4.79%), (climbing up to test yet another upper price limit)," Jafar said.

"On the other hand, cement stocks rallied on declining coal prices with Lucky Cement (+1.97%) and Dewan Cement (+5.37%) remaining in the limelight. DG Khan Cement (+1.71%) and Maple Leaf Cement (+3.66%) sustained a steady rising momentum."

Refineries rallied with Attock Refinery (+4.16%) closing near its upper price limit as the government issued a notification for an immediate ban on the import of furnace oil and ordered refineries to enter into agreements with independent power producers (IPPs) for utilisation of the latter's storage capacity.

"Going forward, we expect investors to focus on details of a supplementary budget along with government negotiations with the IMF for a bailout programme," the analyst added.



Overall, trading volumes increased to 166.8 million shares compared with Monday's tally of 157.1 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs8.1 billion.

Shares of 367 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 241 stocks closed higher, 103 declined and 23 remained unchanged.

K-Electric was the volume leader with 10.1 million shares, losing Rs0.07 to close at Rs6.22. It was followed by TRG Pakistan with 9.8 million shares, gaining Rs1.13 to close at Rs24.28 and The Bank of Punjab with 8.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.33 to close at Rs12.72.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs12.42 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.