PSX Closing Bell: Borrowed Time

March 20, 2024 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 index ended Wednesday's trading session at 65,731.79 showing an increase of 229.20 points or 0.35%.

The index remained positive throughout the day, showing an intraday high of 65,968.03 (+465.43) and a low of 65,614.94 (+112.35) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 index was 170.678 million shares.

In a recent development, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pakistani authorities on Wednesday reached a staff-level agreement on the second and final review under Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement, subject to the approval of the IMF’s Executive Board.

Upon approval, Pakistan will have access to SDR 828 million which is around $1.1 billion.

Following the IMF's initial nod, Pakistan dollar bonds maturing 2025 advanced to a two-year high of 92.5 cents on the dollar.

In today's trading session, advancers to decliners remained equally distributed, with 50 companies closing up and 43 closing down.

Meanwhile 3 were unchanged and 4 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was supported by Inv. Banks / Inv. Cos. / Securities Cos. with 101.97, Fertilizer with 76.82, Commercial Banks with 36.39, Paper & Board with 32.74, and Technology & Communication with 16.78 points.

On the contrary, the index was let down by Cement with 37.91, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 37.71, Food & Personal Care Products with 13.68, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 6.23, and Refinery with 4.26 points.

Companies adding points to the index were DAWH with 102.42, FFC with 48.39, NBP with 29.34, MEBL with 26.5, and PKGS with 24.29 points.

Meanwhile, companies that dragged the index lower were PPL with 44.53, BAHL with 29.25, OGDC with 19.29, UBL with 18.3 and DGKC with 11.67 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 43,694.59 with a net gain of 165.71 points.

Total market volume was 341.844 million shares compared to 323.282 from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs11.84 billion showing a decrease of Rs5.22bn.

There were 138,109 trades reported in 341 companies with 172 closing up, 146 closing down and 23 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 24,279 points or 58.57% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 3,281 points, equivalent to 5.25%.

Copyright Mettis Link News