PSX Closing Bell: The Waiting

February 17, 2023 (MLN): The local bourse witnessed a lackluster trading session on Friday as investors struggled to find any fresh triggers to rally behind which led the benchmark KSE-100 index to close the session with a meager gain of only 39.96 points, ending at 41,118.61.

Investors exercised caution and waited for the release of the 9th tranche of the IMF Extended Fund Facility. The market is anxiously anticipating a green light from the IMF board, and investors are hesitant to make any major moves until more clarity is provided.

However, political noise, inflationary pressures, and rising tensions ahead of the upcoming monetary policy announcement, which is expected to result in an increase have hurt investors' sentiments.

The Index traded in a range of 245.83 points or 0.60 percent of the previous close, showing an intraday high of 41,213.37 and a low of 40,967.54.

Of the 89 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 43 closed up 37 closed down, while 9 remained unchanged. The total volume traded for the index was 65.47 million shares.

Sectors propping up the index were Technology & Communication with 34 points, Fertilizer with 28 points, Commercial Banks with 17 points, Textile Composite, and Pharmaceuticals with 7 points.

The most points added to the index were by SYS which contributed 29 points followed by OGDC with 21 points, FFC with 14 points, FABL with 11 points, and ENGRO with 9 points.

Sector-wise, the index was let down by Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 25 points, Tobacco with 17 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 12 points, Engineering with 4 points, and Refinery with 3 points.

The most points taken off the index were by PSO and POL which stripped the index of 22 points each followed by PAKT with 17 points, UBL with 11 points, and UPFL with 10 points.

All Share Volume decreased by 31.50mn to 110.37mn shares. Market Cap decreased by Rs12.12 billion.

The total companies traded were 317 compared to 320 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 133 closed up, 157 closed down and 27 remained unchanged.

Total trades decreased by 28,782 to 73,136.

Value Traded decreased by 2.76bn to Rs4.68bn

Copyright Mettis Link News