The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed the week on a positive note as bulls continued to dominate trading on Friday, with the benchmark KSE-100 Index gaining 530 points to close at 42,088.

Though the index showed some mixed activity in the first half of the trading session, the benchmark gained some positive momentum in the second half.

The market touched a bottom of 41,471 points during intra-day trading, whereas it touched the day's high at 42,156 points near the close of the session.

Volumes edged up to 261 million shares valued at around Rs13 billion traded. Of the 364 traded symbols, 246 advanced, 101 declined and 17 remained unchanged.

"Stocks closed bullish led by scrips across the board as investors weigh strong financial results in the oil and the cement sectors in the quarter-end earning seasons rally at the PSX," Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said.

He was of the view that institutional interest in the late session, reports of rising local cement prices, strong quarter-end earnings announcements by APL and DGKC, and higher global crude prices buoyed the index.

"The government levy of higher import duties will supporte auto stocks and subdued political noise played a catalyst role in higher close at the PSX," he added.

The engineering sector dominated the market with around 39m shares traded. The chemical and the textile sectors followed with and 25m and 23.5m shares traded, respectively.

Volumes were led by: Engro Polymer: 20.7m shares traded [+2.81pc];

Azgard Nine: 17.6m shares traded [+7.79pc];

TRG Pak Ltd: 15.9m shares traded [+4.81pc];

Aisha Steel Mill: 2.93m shares traded [+14.6pc];

Dost Steels Ltd: 1.50m shares traded [+14.1pc].

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

All this talk
30 Apr, 2024

All this talk

IT is still early days, but there have been several small developments over the past week that, it is hoped, may add...
Monetary policy
30 Apr, 2024

Monetary policy

ALIGNING its decision with the trend in developed economies, the State Bank has acted wisely by holding its key...
Meaningless appointment
30 Apr, 2024

Meaningless appointment

THE PML-N’s policy of ‘family first’ has once again triggered criticism. The party’s latest move in this...
Weathering the storm
Updated 29 Apr, 2024

Weathering the storm

Let 2024 be the year when we all proactively ensure that our communities are safeguarded and that the future is secure against the inevitable next storm.
Afghan repatriation
29 Apr, 2024

Afghan repatriation

COMPARED to the roughshod manner in which the caretaker set-up dealt with the issue, the elected government seems a...
Trying harder
29 Apr, 2024

Trying harder

IT is a relief that Pakistan managed to salvage some pride. Pakistan had taken the lead, then fell behind before...