PSX Closing Bell: Brave

March 02, 2023 (MLN): The domestic equities on Thursday opened on a bullish note as investors opted for value buying which led the benchmark KSE-100 Index to hit the intraday high of 40,856.81, marking a gain of 444 points compared to the previous close. 

However, during the last trading hours, some of the investors preferred to book profits on the expected rate hike by SBP, political uncertainty, and default noise. 

Accordingly, the benchmark KSE100 index ended the trading session with a gain of 258.11 points to close at 40,670.88.

During the trading session, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) plummeted by 19 rupees against the US dollar in today's interbank session as the currency settled the trade at PKR 285.09 per USD, against yesterday's closing of PKR 266.11 per USD.

On the interest rate front, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its meeting held today, decided to raise the policy rate by 300 basis points (bps) to 20% to arrest the inflationary pressure. 

Of the 92 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 38 closed up 50 closed down, while 4 remained unchanged. The total volume traded for the index was 87.70 million shares.

Sectors propping up the index were Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 144 points, Commercial Banks with 125 points, Fertilizer with 91 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 36 points, and Chemical with 20 points.

The most points added to the index were by POL which contributed 84 points followed by EFERT with 50 points, UBL and ENGRO with 43 points each, and HUBC with 40 points.

Sector-wise, the index was let down by Technology & Communication with 56 points, Cement with 37 points, Miscellaneous with 21 points, Food & Personal Care Products with 15 points, and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 8 points.

The most points taken off the index were by TRG which stripped the index of 35 points followed by LUCK with 33 points, PSEL with 21 points, SYS with 19 points, and NESTLE with 10 points.

All Share Volume decreased by 15.24mn to 152.16mn shares. Market Cap increased by Rs14.72 billion.

The total companies traded were 313 compared to 320 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 108 closed up, 182 closed down and 23 remained unchanged.

Total trades decreased by 2,349 to 84,827.

Value Traded decreased by 1.13bn to Rs8.15bn.

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