KARACHI: Pakistani stocks recovered and remained in the green zone on Thursday as the cabinet approved the mini-budget, while year-end festivities kept market activity buoyant all day.
According to a Topline Securities analyst, the stock market began the day on a good note and remained in the green zone throughout the day. “Investors expressed an interest in blue-chip companies for trading before the end of the year.”
The KSE-100 shares index climbed 0.35 percent, or 156.09 points, to close at 44,416.2 points on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), while the KSE-30 shares index gained 0.36 percent, or 62.86 points, to conclude at 17,431.7 points.
There were 373 scrips active, with 202 advancings, 149 declinings, and 22 remaining stables.
The ready market volume was 243.08 million shares, compared to 271.11 million shares traded in the previous trading session.
“Bulls made a comeback as the market achieved an intra-day high of 44,590 points,” said Muhammad Mubashir of JS Global Capital.
“In the future, we advise investors to use any weakness in the banking, E&P [Energy and Petroleum], and cement sectors as an opportunity to buy.”
Sapphire Textile, which gained Rs74.80 to close at Rs1072.8/share, and Sapphire Fiber, which gained Rs57 to conclude at Rs972/share, were among the top gainers.
Colgate Palmolive, which lost Rs177.99 to close at Rs2277.01/share, and Rafhan Maize, which lost Rs100 to close at Rs9400/share, were among the companies that suffered the highest losses.
With a turnover of 22.9 million shares, K-Electric had the highest volume. With a turnover of 19.08 million shares, the scrip gained 3 paisas to close at Rs3.45/share, while Treet Corp was second with a gain of Rs1.22 to conclude at Rs42.33/share.
TRG Pakistan came in third with 17.7 million shares traded, gaining Rs3.88 to finish at Rs125.01 per share.
