KARACHI: After a two-day breather, bulls were back in the market. The KSE-100 index started on a firm note and continued to climb all the way to the intraday high by 791 points. It achieved sizeable gain of 644 points (1.6 per cent), roaring past the strong barrier of 40,000 level to close at 40,559.

Banks, exploration and production, oil marketing companies, cement and fertiliser stocks helped the index stage the bullish rally. Independent power sector were in the limelight as Finance Adviser Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in an interview indicated that talks with the sector are expected to reach conclusion soon. Hub and Kot Addu closed at their respective upper circuits.

International crude prices remained on the upside, which helped E&P stocks close higher as Oil and Gas Development Company, up 2.5pc, Pakistan Oilfields 2.3pc, and Pakistan Petroleum 5pc ended in the green. Increase in fertiliser prices also contributed to buying activity in fertilizer. Among oil and gas marketing companies, Sui Southern and Hascol hit upper circuits.

The volume jumped 4pc to 600m shares, from 576.5m while traded value increased by 42pc to reach $147.7 million as against $104.1m. Oil and gas marketing companies also displayed the highest volume for the day at 94.6m shares, followed by cement 75.1m and power 72.4m. Furthermore, major contribution to total market turnover came from Hascol, , K-Electric, TRG, Unity Foods, Maple Leaf and Worldcall 3.7pc.

Sectors contributing to the performance include power, higher by 166 points, E&P 147 points, banks 107 points, cement 81 points and O&GMCs 64 points. Engro Corporation, up 0.9pc, Habib Bank 1.4pc, Hub Power 7.5pc, Lucky Cement 2.5pc, Fauji Fertiliser 1.3pc, MCB 1.9pc, OGDC 2.5pc and PPL 5pc were the major index movers.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2020