The post-election bullish rally continued at Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) for the third straight day on Wednesday, with the main index hitting yet another all-time high in spite of volatile session.
Meanwhile, market participants propelled trading volumes to a record high in over two years, as continuous foreign buying filled locals with confidence.
The benchmark KSE 100-Index closed at 20,566.69, up 0.45 percent, or 92.07 points, from the previous peak of 20,474.62 recorded on Tuesday, as investors were associating high hopes of a smooth transition of power from one democratic setup to another.
The KSE All Share Index went down by 0.10 percent, or 15.11 points, to end at 14,472.15, down from Tuesday’s 14,487.26; the KSE 30-Index swelled by 0.29 percent, or 46.73 points, to conclude at 16,008.2, up from the previous session’s 15,961.47; whereas the KMI 30-Index ended almost flat as it inched down fractionally by only 0.48 points to finish at 34,858.99.
The KSE witnessed choppy trade on Wednesday and volatility remained at its peak as it started the day amid bullish trade but the pendulum of power kept swinging both ways right throughout the day. The main index opened 167 points higher at 20,641.19, which was its intraday highest level. Following the initial bullish trade, some profit-taking was witnessed at higher levels, which forced the main index to go down by 97 points before another bullish rally emerged.
The cat and mouse play continued till halfway stage where the main index plunged to its lowest level of the day of 20,347.89 before bulls resurrected some hope in the final couple of hours and helped the main index to close at a fresh all-time peak above the psychological 20,500 level.
Trading volume jumped to a over-two-year high of 418.701 million shares, an increase of 118.80 million shares from the 299. 90 million shares reported on Tuesday.
Turnover rose by 2.36 billion rupees (24.10 million U.S. dollars) to 12.12 billion rupees (123.66 million U.S. dollars), compared to 9.76 million rupees (99.57 million U.S. dollars) on Tuesday.
The market capitalization declined by 5.53 billion rupees (56. 46 million U.S. dollars) to 4.99 trillion rupees (50.96 billion U. S. dollars), down from 5 trillion rupees (51.02 billion U.S. dollars) reported the previous day.
According to figures released by the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited (NCCPL), foreign investors came up with a net buying of 651.93 million rupees (6.65 million U.S. dollars) on Tuesday. During the first two weeks of this month, foreign investors have made net investment of 11.43 billion rupees (116.59 million U.S. dollars) in the country’s top equity market.
In broader market, a total of 389 companies saw their shares traded on Wednesday, with 196 issues rising, 180 declining and 13 unchanged.
In terms of trading volume, Bank of Punjab XR was most heavily traded, with 34.64 million shares changing hands, followed by Karachi Electric Supply Company, Japan Power and Southern Electric.
In terms of price, Rafhan Maize XD was the star performer, rising 211.09 rupees (2.15 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,448 rupees (45.38 U.S. dollars), while Bata Pakistan was the top loser, shedding 93 rupees (94.89 U.S. cents) to finish at 1,767.01 rupees (18.03 U.S. dollars).
