PSX Closing Bell: On Guard

June 12, 2024 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 index closed in the green after seven sessions, ending Wednesday's trading at 72,797.43, an increase of 207.94 points or 0.29%.

Investors remained cautious ahead of the annual budget 2024-25.

Pakistan’s government is set to unveil its budget later today, with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb likely under pressure to hike taxes and boost revenue in order to bolster the chances of clinching a new International Monetary Fund loan.

Aurangzeb will present the country’s first post-election budget and his first since being appointed to the position in March.

The budget plan will outline targets for tax revenue growth, possible tax changes and the fiscal deficit.

The government already approved an economic growth target of 3.6% for the fiscal year starting July 01 compared with 2.4% a year ago.

The index traded in a range of 704.76 points showing an intraday high of 73,169.00 (+579.51) and a low of 72,464.24 (-125.25) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 index was 106.57 million shares.

Of the 100 index companies 64 closed up, 27 closed down, 8 were unchanged, while 1 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was supported by Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (81.07pts), Technology & Communication (53.35pts), Fertilizer (44.9pts), Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (28.3pts), and Power Generation & Distribution (26.38pts).

On the flip-side, the index was let down by Commercial Banks (54.21pts), Food & Personal Care Products (21.16pts), Textile Composite (12.75pts), Leather & Tanneries (8.59pts), and Automobile Assembler (5.62pts).

Companies adding points to the index were PPL (50.18pts), SYS (33.54pts), ENGRO (27.07pts), POL (14.51pts), and PSO (13.92pts).

Meanwhile, companies that dragged the index lower were NBP (31.28pts), BAFL (30.04pts), COLG (20.07pts), LUCK (16.56pts), and HMB (11.71pts).

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 46,834.29 with a net gain of 157.27 points.

Total market volume was 293.08 million shares compared to 350.72m from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs10.54 billion showing an increase of Rs350.86m.

There were 153,839 trades reported in 433 companies with 231 closing up, 129 closing down and 73 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 31,345 points or 75.62% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 10,346 points, equivalent to 16.57%.

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