KARACHI: A surprise rally on the last trading day of the rollover week saw the KSE-100 index recoup all it lost a day earlier and pile up an extra 100 points. The benchmark gained 236 points (0.70 per cent) on Friday and closed slightly short of the 34,000-level at 33,931.

The market took off to a positive start with the index touching intraday high by 353 points on buying by local corporates and insurance companies who seized the opportunity to accumulate blue chips at attractive valuations. Individuals decided to err on the side of caution and book profit with two days’ holiday ahead.

On the news front, the government raised Rs168.8 billion through the auction of Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), exceeding its target of Rs125bn. Moreover, some positive reports of incentives in the upcoming budget 2020-21 to jumpstart the economy helped elate investor sentiments.

Technology sector continued its gaining spree. Cement which had seen an attrition of 10pc in the past few sessions rebounded as Lucky, Pioneer, Cherat, DG Khan and Kohat closed in the green. Slight improvement in international oil prices enabled Pakistan Oilfields, Pakistan Petroleum and Oil and Gas Development Company to climb higher in exploration and production (E&P).

Oil marketing companies and banking shares also picked themselves up from recent lows.

Pharmaceutical sector, however, saw profit-taking with Ferozsons Labs hitting the lower circuit.

Foreigners cherry-picked shares worth $0.47 million. The volume increased further by 20pc to 233m shares while traded value jumped by 39pc to reach $62.4m. Stocks that contributed significantly included Unity Foods, Hascol Petroleum, TRG, Maple Leaf Cement and Fauji Foods, which formed 37pc of total turnover.

Sectors contributing to the performance were E&P, up by 68 points, cement 43 points, power 39 points, banks 37 points, insurance 26 points while food was down 31 points. Scrips that stood out as major index movers for the day included Oil and Gas Development Company, rising by 3.3pc, Hub Power 1.9pc, Lucky Cement 2.4pc, Pakistan Petroleum 1.7pc and Abbott 7.5pc.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2020