KARACHI: The bull run continued on the first trading day of the fourth bullish week with the KSE-100 index mounting 319.72 poi­nts (0.86 per cent) to settle at 37,650.57.

Investor participation increased as confidence continued to grow. Institutions and individuals allocated fresh funds to equities at current prices that saw the volume lift to 554 million shares, represented as one of the highest daily turnovers in recent times.

Underpinned by investors’ insatiable appetite for cem­ent, pharmaceutical and aut­o­mobile shares, the interest spread wider to other sectors such as refineries; auto parts and accessories, and power.

The market opened higher by 158 points and continued to rise hitting the intraday high of 410 points. Analysts believe that another State Bank monetary policy meeting could be held in the remaining 10 days of July with the prospect of another rate cut.

Hascol Petroleum remai­ned on top of the volume table with 33m shares traded though with a slight price change. Punters and day traders continued to churn sto­cks on change in few paisas.

Massive growth in remittance, improving currency reserves, foreign direct inves­t­ment (FDI) taking a jump of 88pc and the rapidly decreasing Covid-19 cases helped elate investor sentiments which were already at a high pitch on government’s incentives to the construction sector. Cement continued the momentum with highest volume on the bourse, totalling 83.2m shares. Steel also came under massive buying.

Moreover, the government has formulated Oil Refinery and Marketing Policy 2020 which saw all three refinery stocks, Attock, National and Pakistan, settle at their upper circuit.

Power caught the investors gaze which witnessed price rise in sector stocks. Interest was witnessed in pharmaceuticals as companies race for a breakthrough drug or vaccine for the treatment of Covid-19 as well as recent increase in pharma product prices.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2020