KARACHI: The stock market continued to rally for third straight day with the KSE-100 index recording gains of 553.53 points (1.82 per cent) and close at 30,972.75.

In the last three days, the index has displayed meteoric rise of 2,209 points or 7.50pc, leaving the participants gasping for breath.

Investors’ sentiments received a boost by the visit of the incumbent chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan along with his team, which held discussions with the stakeholders on problems that plague the market.

Besides the companies that bought shares worth $1.44 million, ‘’brokers proprietary trading account’’ showed net purchases of $1.74m which encouraged investors to believe that talks with the apex regulator may have progressed towards a market turnaround.

On the economic front, the news of current account deficit having narrowed by 73pc in July raised confidence of investors who believed that the economy may finally be on the path of recovery. During the session, heavily oversold stocks were trading at 11-year low price-to-earnings ratio of just five times, inviting value investors.

The volume slightly declined 6pc from the previous day to 134.5m shares, while the traded value was off 4pc to $33.8m. Buying was observed across the board, with major impact coming from banks, cement, exploration and production and fertiliser sectors.

Heavyweights such as Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Habib Bank, United Bank, Engro, Lucky Cement played a major role in pulling up the index. In cement, Kohat hit the upper circuit while Lucky, DG Khan, Fauji and Maple Leaf closed near their upper lock.

Engro Corporation was the major gainer among fertiliser stocks while in the exploration and production, OGDC, Pakistan Petroluem and Pakistan Oilfields closed yet again in green as international oil prices rose.

Mixed sentiment was seen in banks where Bank Al Habib closed slightly negative, while Habib, MCB and United ended up with varying gains.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2019