KARACHI: Stock prices leapt up on Wednesday as investors celebrated the drop of international oil prices from their seven-year high.

Oil prices slid more than two per cent from their recent peak as the indirect talks between the United States and Iran resumed, according to Arif Habib Ltd. The latest development could revive the international nuclear agreement and allow more oil exports from the member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

However, the cement sector stayed under pressure owing to higher international coal prices. In the banking sector, Bank AL Habib hogged the limelight for announcing earnings that beat market expectations. Investors finally came to terms with the physiological level of 46,000 points and carried out across-the-board buying in the last trading hour.

As a result, the KSE-100 index gained 391.81 points or 0.85pc to close at 46,339.76 points.

The trading volume increased 29.8pc to 243.1 million shares while the traded value went up 40pc to $56.8m on a day-on-day basis.

Sectors that contributed the highest number of points to the benchmark index included commercial banking (123.71 points), fertiliser (73.57 points), oil and gas exploration (42.62 points), power generation and distribution (25.57 points) and cement (21.51 points).

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Treet Corporation Ltd (16.81m shares), K-Electric Ltd (13.78m shares), Hum Network Ltd (12.5m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (10.64m shares) and Engro Polymer and Chemicals Ltd (10.41m shares).

Shares contributing positively to the index included Bank AL Habib Ltd (56.48 points), Engro Corporation Ltd (48.32 points), Meezan Bank Ltd (28.34 points), The Hub Power Company Ltd (22.68 points) and TRG Pakistan Ltd (21.37 points).

Stocks that took away the maximum number of points from the index included Systems Ltd (13.48 points), Adamjee Insurance Company Ltd (13.12 points), Nishat Mills Ltd (5.76 points), Bank Alfalah Ltd (5.59 points) and Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (5.3 points).

Foreign investors were net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $1.58m.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2022