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The Pakistan Stock Exchange ended Tuesday's trading session on a positive note, with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 362 points, or 0.74 per cent, by the close of the trading session to reach 49,059.60.
The benchmark index crossed the 49,000 point barrier after a day of erratic trading, as volumes were led by engineering and power generation and distribution scrips.
Around 94 million shares had changed hands by the end of the session, with a total worth of nearly Rs7.22 billion.
Stocks of 385 companies were traded, of which 285 gained in value, 83 declined and 17 remained unchanged.
Volumes were led by:
K-Electric Ltd.: 36m shares traded [-1.99pc];
Aisha Steel Mill: 25.6m shares traded [+4.97pc];
Power Cement Ltd.: 10.6m shares traded [+5.26pc];
Pak Refinery: 10.3m shares traded [+3.32pc]; and,
Azgard Nine: 9.23m shares traded [+0.19].
"Stocks closed sharply higher led by oil, banking and cement scrips on strong valuations," said analyst Ahsan Mehanti.
"Mid-session pressure was witnessed on concerns for $5.4bn current account deficit for Jul-Feb 2017," continued Mehanti.
"Positive sentiments amid foreign inflows, government-proposed PSDP commitments and outcome of CPEC projects played a catalyst role in the bullish close," he added.
"Volumes recovered from yesterday on rumors that a new product for margin financing will be launched soon," read a research note from Topline Securities. "The Index, as a result, gained 322 points, or 0.66pc, to close at 49,020 level."
