Market watch: Index-heavy sectors drive KSE-100’s rise

Benchmark index surges 512.39 points to settle at 48,112.21

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Stock Exchange remained under the control of bulls on Monday as cherry-picking in heavyweight sectors helped add over 500 points to the benchmark KSE-100 index.

A 3% jump in international crude oil prices triggered a rally in the exploration and production sector, which closed entirely in the green. Buoyed by strong financial results, investors poured money into oil and gas marketing companies, aiding the rally.

Moreover, news of Airlift securing $85 million in Series B funding drove investor interest in the technology sector and pushed market participants to take fresh positions.

The KSE-100 index jumped as soon as trading began and remained in the positive territory throughout the session. Following the initial surge, the uptrend stabilised and the index rose steadily for the rest of the day.

A sell-off, witnessed in the final hour, was rectified timely by the market participants.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 512.39 points, or 1.08%, to settle at 48,112.21.

A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the stock market traded in the positive zone throughout the session, adding a total of 545 points and closing near the session’s high with a net increase of 512 points.

The exploration and production sector, which was a laggard in the past year or so and particularly in the past month, performed well on the back of an increase of 3% in international crude oil prices.

Besides, the oil and gas marketing companies saw PSO sprinting due to its financial results, which were scheduled to be announced during the day, but could not be unveiled by the close of trading.

In addition to that, technology stocks found support, taking cue from the Series B fund raising of Airlift, which helped improve valuation multiples of listed entities in the technology space, the report said.

Overall trading volumes rose to 397.7 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 299.1 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs14.9 billion.

Shares of 494 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 331 stocks closed higher, 144 declined and 19 remained unchanged.

Hum Network was the volume leader with 35.4 million shares, gaining Rs0.48 to close at Rs7.68. It was followed by The Bank of Punjab with 22.3 million shares, gaining Rs0.38 to close at Rs8.71 and Ghani Global Holdings with 19.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.71 to close at Rs47.64.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers of Rs440.8 million worth of shares during the trading session, according to data compiled by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan.