KARACHI: Shares prices moved up on Tuesday in anticipation of positive outcomes from the prime minister’s two-day visit to China.

Arif Habib Ltd said the bulls made a comeback on the exchange on plummeting international coal prices after many dry sessions. The index reached an intraday high of 568 points and gave investors much-needed confidence.

Volumes in the main-board shares improved dramatically yet third-tier stocks continued to lead the volume board.

Speculations over the Chinese debt rollover and the China-Pakistan Econ­omic Corridor revival also played the role of a catalyst in the bullish close.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 41,808.69 points, up 544 points or 1.32 per cent from the preceding session.

The trading volume increased 97.1pc to 192.1 million shares while the traded value went up 152.6pc to $28.6m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (33.1m shares), Cnergyico PK Ltd (11.6m shares), TRG Pakistan Ltd (8.2m shares), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (7.1m shares) and G3 Technologies Ltd (5.9m shares).

Sectors that contributed to the index performance were technology and communication (131.2 points), power generation and distribution (41.8 points), cement (83.7 points), exploration and production (64.7 points) and fertiliser (42.6 points).

Companies registering the biggest increase in their share prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs100), Good Luck Industries Ltd (Rs44.79), Reliance Cotton Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs38), Gatron Industries Ltd (Rs26.66) and Khyber Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs25.82).

Shares that declined the most in rupee terms were Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (Rs39.58), Premium Textile Mills Ltd (Rs33.24), Faisal Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs30), Shield Corporation Ltd (Rs17.27) and Sanofi-Aventis Pakistan Ltd (Rs15.04).

Foreign investors rema­ined net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $0.19m.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2022