KARACHI: After consolidating at the old levels for about a week, the stock market moved forward on Thursday with the KSE-100 index adding 137 points, or 0.3 per cent, to settle at 47,737.

Intraday the index gained 246 points mainly on brisk buying in OGDC, PSO and some technology stocks. On the steel sector, flat steel players (ASL & ISL) increased prices, which prompted an uptick in their share prices. Traders said that investors had started to add to their portfolio good dividend-yielding stocks as the results reporting season begins next week.

Cement sector remained under pressure amid coal prices spike. Investors lost interest in the refinery sector in the absence of the much-talked about new comprehensive refinery policy. Fertiliers also remained subdued as a question mark remained on farmers’ income. Commercial banks gained in anticipation of healthy bottom line and good payout with the announcement of their final results.

“Major positivity came from OGDC on rumours of discovery in Waziristan,” a trader said.

Individuals were major sellers of shares worth $3.01m while insurance companies bought stocks of $2.65m.

The trading volume declined slightly from 508.2m shares to 506.3m shares. WTL, KEL, TPL, PIBTL and TPLP contributed 36pc to the total turnover. The traded value was down 4pc to reach $97m as against $101m the previous day.

Stocks that contributed positively to the index included OGDC (28 points), TRG (26 points), BAFL (16 points), Unity Foods (15 points) and PSO (13 points). The laggards were PAKT (21 points), PSX (15 points), HBL (9 points), FFC (8 points) and NML (6 points).

Market watchers advised “sell on strength” as there were several negative factors that could impede the index rise going forward. The increasing Covid cases, the roll-over week, the geopolitical situation and the upcoming Azad Kashmir elections were the issues that could tell upon investor enthusiasm.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2021