KARACHI: Stocks extended overnight rally as the benchmark KSE-100 index gained 487.85 or 1.1 per cent to close at 44,821.53 points on Friday.
According to Topline Securities, major contribution to the index came from Pakistan Oilfields, MCB Bank, Oil and Gas Development Company, Systems Ltd and Lucky Cement, which cumulatively contributed 173 points to the index.
Clarity on the political horizon helped the index continue its upward journey following a remarkable bull run on the stock market in the preceding session.
On the corporate result front, Habib Bank Ltd reported a 6.8pc increase in nine-month earnings, which was in line with market expectations. However, the surge of 99pc in the profitability of Interloop Ltd surprised most market players. It was in higher-than-industry-wide expectation mainly because of high revenue.
Market participation decreased 13.96pc to 334.32 million shares on a day-on-day basis.
Sectors contributing to the benchmark index included oil and gas exploration (137.69 points), fertiliser (78.80 points), cement (56.56 points), commercial banks (45.53 points) and food and personal care products (24.84 points).
Stocks that contributed significantly to the traded volume included Service Fabrics (34.2m shares), Unity Foods Ltd (26.47m shares), WorldCall Telecom (25.49m shares), Treet Corporation (19.62m shares) and Byco Petroleum (16.17m shares).
Stocks that contributed positively to the index included Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (48.84 points), Pakistan Oilfields Ltd (43.41 points), MCB Bank Ltd (38.51 points), Oil and Gas Development Company (37.73 points) and Systems Ltd (31.13 points).
Shares that contributed negatively included TRG Pakistan Ltd (24.79 points), Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (14.11 points), Habib Metropolitan Bank (12.27 points), Faysal Bank Ltd (7.34 points) and AGP Ltd (5.87 points).
Foreign investors were net sellers as they sold shares worth $5.4m.
Arif Habib Ltd said it expects the market to perform well as the country gets closer to resuming the IMF programme and receiving a $1bn tranche.
Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2021
