PSX Closing Bell: On Solid Ground

February 29, 2024 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 index closed Thursday's trading session at 64,578.52 showing an increase of 875.07 points or 1.37%.

The positivity was driven by value buying amidst political clarity as Pakistan finally saw the inaugural session of its newly elected National Assembly held today, said Ismael Iqbal Securities in its market closing report.

The index has completely erased the post-election losses and added 434.65 points or 0.68% since February 08, 2024.

Moreover, China has agreed to roll over a $2 billion loan, which was set to mature in March, providing a crucial lifeline for Pakistan's economic stability.

The index remained positive throughout the day, showing an intraday high of 64,801.64 (+1,098.19) and a low of 63,827.25 (+123.80) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 index was 223.52 million shares.

Market participants are closely monitoring February’s inflation and trade data, which are due on Friday.

Investors remain optimistic as the inflation is expected to slow significantly to about 23.3% YoY, its lowest level in 17 months.

In today's session, of the 100 index companies 58 closed up, 36 closed down, 2 were unchanged, while 4 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was supported by Commercial Banks with 251.04, Fertilizer with 211.81, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 184.49, Automobile Assembler with 111.28, and Power Generation & Distribution with 68.06 points.

On the contrary, the index was let down by Technology & Communication with 33.22, Cement with 14.89, Synthetic & Rayon with 14.19, Automobile Parts & Accessories with 4.87, and Cable & Electrical Goods with 4.06 points.

Companies adding points to the index were EFERT with 119.98, MTL with 111.72, PPL with 105.15, HUBC with 67.93, and UBL with 59.23 points.

Meanwhile, companies that dragged the index lower were TRG with 37.76, LUCK with 22.88, IBFL with 14.19, DGKC with 11.54 and PKGP with 8.25 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 42,840.89 with a net gain of 387.81 points.

Total market volume was 424.044 million shares compared to 461.391 from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs17.05 billion showing an increase of Rs1.05bn.

There were 191,571 trades reported in 364 companies with 188 closing up, 161 closing down and 15 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 23,126 points or 55.79% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative increase of 2,127 points, equivalent to 3.41%.

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