Stocks stay bullish, index gains 439 points

KARACHI: The bullish trend continued on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as investors’ confidence remained high following the central bank’s liquidity injection into the money market last week.

The PSX remained in the green zone throughout the day, although profit-taking occurred in the first trading hour. Arif Habib Ltd said the sectors recording bullish activity included cement, steel and technology, which saw TRG Pakistan Ltd hit the upper circuit following its disclosure about the use of expected cash flows. Trading activity continued to remain sideways as the market witnessed hefty volumes in third-tier stocks, it added.

As a result, the KSE-100 index added 439.27 points or one per cent to close at 44,339.95 points.

Market participation decreased 5.5pc to 238.5 million shares while the value of traded shares went up 16.7pc to $52.8m.

Sectors contributing the highest number of points to the benchmark index included cement (100.65 points), technology and communication (87.89 points), fertiliser (58.20 points), commercial banking (35.15 points) and oil and gas exploration (30.49 points).

Stocks that contributed significantly to the traded volume included TRG Pakistan Ltd (25.67m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (17.45m shares), Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd (13.93m shares), TeleCard Ltd (12.67m shares) and Silk Bank Ltd (12.62m shares).

Shares contributing positively to the index were TRG Pakistan Ltd (89.51 points), Lucky Cement Ltd (52.47 points), Engro Corporation Ltd (32.82 points), Cherat Cement Company Ltd (15.29 points) and Bank AL Habib Ltd (15.21 points).

Stocks that took away the maximum number of points from the index included Systems Ltd (13.35 points), Byco Petroleum Pakistan Ltd (8.51 points), United Bank Ltd (8.06 points), Dawood Hercules Corporation Ltd (7.17 points) and Millat Tractors Ltd (3.34 points).

Stocks recording the biggest increases in percentage terms included TRG Pakistan Ltd, which went up 7.5pc, followed by Bannu Woollen Mills Ltd (7.49pc), Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan Ltd (7.05pc), Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (5.95pc) and Avanceon Ltd (5.13pc).

Foreign investors remained net buyers as they purchased shares worth $2.24m on a net basis.