PSX Closing Bell: Turning the Tide

February 13, 2023 (MLN): The benchmark KSE-100 index bounced back strongly on Tuesday and ended the session higher after a two-day bloodbath.

Within the first 15 minutes after the opening bell, KSE-100 plunged below the key 60,000 mark as investors’ confidence remained dampened amid continued political uncertainty.

However, the market soon reversed course as bulls stepped in to scoop up stocks at cheaper prices.

The index climbed as much as 1,614 points or 2.7% from its intraday low and closed at 61,226.93 showing an increase of 161.61 points or 0.26% compared to the previous session.

The index traded in a range of 2,041.48 points showing an intraday high of 61,654.65 (+589.33) and a low of 59,613.18 (-1,452.14) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 index was 253.487 million shares.

In the previous two sessions following the elections, the index had cumulatively lost 3,079 points.

Meanwhile, a somewhat positive quarterly review by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) was seen for Pakistan, as 3 PSX scrips were added to the Frontier Market and 19 to the Small Cap Indexes.

"This review is anticipated to have a neutral impact on the market", said Arif Habib Limited.

In today's session, of the 100 index companies 55 closed up, 33 closed down, 5 were unchanged, while 7 remained untraded.

KSE-100 index was supported by Commercial Banks with 171.72, Fertilizer with 113.27, Cement with 40.12, Power Generation & Distribution with 35.74, and Engineering with 19.14 points.

However, despite the market rebound, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies remained in the negative, stripping off 199.48 points from the index.

Other sectors contributing negatively to the index included Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 53.66, Automobile Parts & Accessories with 17.27, Refinery with 13.73, and Pharmaceuticals with 9.31 points.

Companies adding points to the index were MARI with 130.75, EFERT with 76.44, UBL with 69.44, HUBC with 52.41, and MEBL with 36.8 points.

Meanwhile, companies that dragged the index lower were OGDC with 196.73, PPL with 137.22, PSO with 39.73, BAHL with 19.79 and THALL with 17.27 points.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 41,290.80 with a net loss of 64.52 points.

Total market volume was 435.550 million shares compared to 349.975 from the previous session while traded value was recorded at Rs15.97 billion showing an increase of Rs3.22bn.

There were 190,764 trades reported in 352 companies with 188 closing up, 136 closing down and 28 remaining unchanged.

To note, the KSE-100 has gained 19,774 points or 47.7% during the fiscal year, whereas the ongoing calendar year has witnessed a cumulative decrease of 1,224 points, equivalent to 1.96%.

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