The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSE 100-share index reached an all-time intraday high of 39,295.46 points and also an all-time closing high of 39,257 points, after gaining 207.54 points or +0.53 per cent on Thursday.
The index session started on a shaky note and fell by 101.29 points but recovered off its lows soon by midday. The volume for the KSE-100 Index clocked in at 88.64 million shares compared to 137.6 million shares in the previous session. Daily traded value reduced by 29 per cent from the previous session to clock in at $88.62million.
Sector wise, Autos bore investor interest due to depreciating Yen, with Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited (HCAR) and Indus Motors (INDU) closing up on their respective upper circuits.
Pharmaceuticals remained in the limelight with Glaxosmithkline and Otsuka Pakistan Limited closing on their upper circuits. Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited (+4.14) and Searle Company Limited (SEARL) (+2.81) also performed well. Investors kept their focus on cements as the sector continues to perform on the back of robust local dispatches and private sector demand. Contrary to what was expected, the banks managed to come out of the pit and closed in the green.
Investor interest remained low in Exploration & Production (E&P) sector and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), although Hascol Petroleum Limited managed to close up on its upper circuit; clocking in a combined return of 14.6 per cent in just four sessions. Refineries (Attock Refinery Limited & Pakistan Refinery Limited) saw a significant investor interest and churned a turnover of more than four million shares each.
The performance of fertilisers and telecommunication remained mixed. From contribution to index perspective, Habib Bank Limited, Hub Power Company Limited, Lucky Cement Limited, Abbott Laboratories and Muslim Commercial Bank added 158 points while Focus Minerals Limited, Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited, KOT Addu Power Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited and Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited took away 114 points.
Total volume traded was 164.96 million while the value of shares traded was Rs 11.634 billion. According to Inter Market Securities Limited, “Despite today’s fresh all-time intraday high the KSE-100 Index is struggling to hold above 39,000 after considering today’s drastically thin market participation. With trend line resistance hanging at 39,400-39,600 a pull-back cannot be ruled out.”