KARACHI: Stocks maintained the upward momentum for the second day with the KSE-100 index recording gains of 218 points, or 0.46 per cent, and settle at 47,356 points. The market took off on a positive note and remained in the green for all of the session.

Analysts said that Wednesday being the last day of the financial year 2021, brisk trading was seen by the financial institutions as they balanced their portfolio positions. Corporates accumulated shares worth $4.18m, while banks, mutual funds, individuals and insurance companies sold and raised liquidity to build fresh portfolio from July 1. Foreign investors still stung by the downgrade of Pakistan MSCI Index to Frontier Market from Emerging Market continued to sell-off on Wednesday.

Investors were encouraged by the passage of the Finance Bill 2021. Reports suggested that the Ogra’s recommended price hike for POL products turned out to be a major positive for the Oil & Gas Exploration & Production sectors.

The major stocks on the E&P sector including OGDC, PPL, POL and Mari Petroleum all stirred to life. Among refineries, NRL and PRL also recorded gains. Moreover, Petroleum Division announced initiatives to six new projects incurred at a cost of Rs1.78bn in FY22.

Besides the E&P sector that contributed 57 points to the index gains, other major bullish sector was Banks with gains of 77 points as MCB and NBP were picked up by institutional investors.

On the flip side, fertiliser washed away 36pts and technology 22pts. Stocks that contributed positively to the index included MCB (65 points), PPL (23 points), Mari Petroleum (21 points), NBP (19 points) and BAFL (17 points).

Stocks that contributed negatively were HBL (49 points), Engro Corp (27 points), TRG (19 points), CHCC (12 points) and INDU (7 points).

The trading volume declined 5pc over the previous session to 549.5m shares. Silkbank was the volume leader for the second day. The traded value also fell by 8pc to reach $101m.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2021