The Pakistan Stock Exchange extended its bull-run on Thursday and the KSE-100 index rose 137 points as investors drew encouragement from the receipt of $1 billion by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) through the sale of Eurobonds.
However, a rise in Covid-19 cases in the country, particularly in Karachi, capped gains.
Eurobond proceeds of $1 billion also propped up the SBP’s foreign currency reserves to four-and-a-half-year high.
Separately, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s recommendation to jack up petrol price by Rs11.5 per litre for the next fortnight fuelled buying in stocks of oil sectors.
Earlier, trading kicked off on an optimistic note and the index climbed steadily for most part of the day. The market came under selling pressure in final hours, which wiped off some of the gains.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 136.79 points, or 0.29%, to settle at 47,628.26.
Arif Habib Limited, in its report, stated that after consolidating in the past couple of sessions, the KSE-100 index regained confidence on Thursday and added a total of 246 points on the back of Oil and Gas Development Company, PSO and the technology sector.
Profit-booking brought the index down by the end of the session, which closed up by 137 points.
Cement, fertiliser and refinery sectors came under selling pressure, whereas steel, chemical and bank stocks contributed positively to the index.
Flat steel players (Aisha Steel Mills and International Steels) increased prices, which prompted an uptick in stock prices of both companies, the report added.
Overall trading volumes fell to 506.3 million shares compared with Wednesday’s tally of 508.3 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs15.5 billion.
Shares of 425 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 234 stocks closed higher, 174 declined and 17 remained unchanged.
WorldCall Telecom was the volume leader with 50.8 million shares, losing Rs0.07 to close at Rs3.35. It was followed by K-Electric with 38.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.15 to close at Rs4.06 and TPL Corp with 36.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.68 to close at Rs24.47.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs199.9 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.
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