Pakistan Stock Exchange maintains winning streak, closes at another record high

WEB DESK: The primary indicator of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) experienced a marginal increase on Wednesday, securing its fifth consecutive victory.

The index concluded at 56,680.07, reflecting a rise of 14.14 points, or 0.02 per cent.

Throughout today’s trading session, the index demonstrated a range of 413.63 points, reaching an intraday high of 56,846.68 (+180.74) and a low of 56,433.05 (-232.88) points.

Despite the session exhibiting less volatility in terms of movement, trading activity remained robust.

KSE-100 Index recorded a total volume of 306.792 million shares, with 40 of the 100 index companies closing higher, 38 closing lower, 2 remaining unchanged, and 20 not traded.

The support for the KSE-100 index came from oil and gas exploration companies with 118.27 points, oil and gas marketing companies with 85.36 points, food and personal care products with 29.65 points, refineries with 25.93 points, and cable and electrical goods with 14.41 points.

Notable contributors to index points included PSO with 68.63, OGDC with 62.42, PPL with 56.52, UNITY with 18.76, and ATRL with 17.73 points.

On the flip side, commercial banks weighed down the KSE-100 index with 99.43 points, followed by power generation and distribution with 67.83 points, cement with 57.67 points, automobile assembly with 43.74 points, and fertiliser with 23.37 points.

Read more: PKR declines for 17th straight day vs US dollar

Companies exerting downward pressure on the index included HUBC with 92.95, BAHL with 44.7, MTL with 42.15, MCB with 37.61, and EFERT with 36.45 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index concluded at 37,669.26, registering a net gain of 126.42 points.

There were 263,656 trades reported in 357 companies, with 194 closing higher, 146 closing lower, and 17 remaining unchanged.

The total market volume surged to 661.624 million shares, marking the highest since July 1, 2021.

Additionally, the traded value reached a two-year high of Rs24.35 billion, representing a day-on-day increase of Rs4.81 billion.

It’s noteworthy that the KSE-100 has witnessed a gain of 15,227 points, or 36.73 per cent, during the fiscal year, while the ongoing calendar year has seen a cumulative increase of 16,260 points, equivalent to 40.23 per cent in the KSE-100.

In a related development, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has announced that the IMF is poised to conclude its review this week.