Benchmark index rises 52.86 points to settle at 30,637.71. PHOTO: AFP
In addition to that, the announcement of $2.8 billion investment by Dutch firm Royal Vopak in Pakistan played the role of a catalyst in bullish close of the market.
The benchmark KSE-100 index shot up as soon as trading began and crossed the 31,000-point mark, but selling pressure, arising from concerns over a historically high budget deficit, erased most of the gains.
At close, the benchmark KSE 100-share Index recorded an increase of 52.86 points, or 0.17%, to settle at 30,637.71 points.
Arif Habib Limited, in its report, stated that contrary to Tuesday's trading session, the index erased all the gains made earlier on Wednesday when the market went up 528 points.
Near the close, the market saw selling pressure that pushed the index in the red, which dropped 33 points, but closed with a gain of 53 points, it said.
The uptrend earlier during the day came on the back of gains in refinery, steel, automobile, fertiliser and cement sectors where index heavyweights traded at or near their upper price ceilings.
The cement sector again led the volumes with trading in 20.5 million shares followed by banks (15.5 million) and chemical companies (15.5 million).
Among individual stocks, K-Electric topped the volumes chart with trading in 10 million shares, followed by Maple Leaf Cement (8.4 million) and Unity Foods (7.1 million).
JS Global analyst Maaz Mulla said equities closed on a flat note with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining just 53 points and closing at 30,638.
"The bourse remained positive throughout the session but saw brief negativity in the second half due to selling pressure," he said.
Mixed sentiment was seen in the financial sector where HBL (-0.2%) fell while MCB Bank (+0.1%) and UBL (+2%) were positive. NBP (-2.2%) reported 1HCY19 consolidated earnings per share (EPS) of Rs5.34 vs Rs5.95 in the same period of last year with no cash dividend.
Moreover, Meezan Bank (+3.4%) also announced 1HCY19 consolidated EPS of Rs5.45 vs Rs3.22 in the corresponding period of last year with cash payout of Re1 per share. Engro (+1.7%) was the major gainer in the fertiliser sector.
International oil prices gained following a drop in US inventories. In the exploration and production sector, Pakistan Petroleum (+1%) and Pakistan Oilfields (+2.4%) were major gainers in the aforementioned sector.
Traded value stood at $34 million, up 2% and volumes came in at 149 million shares, up 24%. Major contribution to the total market volume came from K-Electric (-4.8%), Maple Leaf Cement (-2.4%), Unity Foods (+0.9%) and Lotte Chemical (-3.4%).
"Moving ahead, we expect the market to trade sideways until further clarity emerges on the FATF front and Pak-India border tensions ease," the analyst added.
Overall, trading volumes increased to 149 million shares compared with Tuesday's tally of 119.8 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs5.4 billion.
Shares of 340 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 151 stocks closed higher, 169 declined and 20 remained unchanged.
K-Electric was the volume leader with 10 million shares, losing Rs0.17 to close at Rs3.38. It was followed by Maple Leaf Cement with 8.4 million shares, losing Rs0.47 to close at Rs19.13 and Unity Foods with 7.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.08 to close at Rs8.72.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs192.8 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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