PSX Closing Bell: Level Up

July 29, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan stocks started the week on a positive note, with the benchmark index gaining over 1% ahead of the key monetary policy meeting.

The benchmark KSE-100 Index concluded Monday's trading session at 78,827.74, showing an increase of 798.24 points or 1.02%.

The index traded in a range of 1,039.70 points showing an intraday high of 79,055.99 (+1,026.49) and a low of 78,016.29 (-13.21) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 Index was 135.18 million shares.

Last week, the index recorded a sharp decline of 2,088 points or 2.6%.

Investors are closely monitoring the monetary policy meeting scheduled later today, where the central bank is expected to ease the policy rate further.

In a positive development, Fitch Ratings upgraded Pakistan's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CCC+' from 'CCC'.

The upgrade reflects greater certainty over the continued availability of external funding, in the context of Pakistan's staff-level agreement (SLA) with the IMF on a new 37-month $7 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

Strong performance on the previous, more temporary IMF arrangement helped the country narrow fiscal deficits and rebuild foreign exchange (FX) reserves, and further improvements are likely.

Of the 100 index companies 71 closed up, 26 closed down, while 3 were unchanged.

Top gainers during the day were MUREB (+8.58%), SEARL (+6.49%), AVN (+4.74%), POL (+4.62%), and KAPCO (+4.47%).

On the other hand, top losers were KTML (-6.13%), PGLC (-3.59%), KOHC (-2.35%), BNWM (-1.77%), and THALL (-1.45%).

In terms of index-point contributions, companies that propped up the index were UBL (+122.14pts), FFC (+116.73pts), POL (+104.36pts), OGDC (+74.54pts), and MCB (+33.61pts).

Meanwhile, companies that dragged the index lower were HUBC (-52.04pts), ENGRO (-17.07pts), HBL (-15.04pts), BAFL (-14.38pts), and KOHC (-11.48pts).

Sector-wise, KSE-100 Index was supported by Commercial Banks (+216.77pts), Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (+200.05pts), Fertilizer (+127.78pts), Cement (+80.90pts), and Pharmaceuticals (+64.70pts).

While the index was let down by Power Generation & Distribution (-19.47pts), Automobile Parts & Accessories (-7.49pts), Miscellaneous (-5.14pts), Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (-1.63pts), and Property (-1.27pts).

In the broader market, the All-Share Index closed at 50,098.56 with a net gain of 494.58 points or 1.00%.

Total market volume was 371.09 million shares compared to 278.33m from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs19.16 billion showing an increase of Rs7.53bn.

There were 225,091 trades reported in 437 companies with 252 closing up, 129 closing down, and 56 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 383 points or 0.49% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 16,377 points, equivalent to 26.22%.

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