KARACHI: Bulls triumphed on Monday at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as investors expected higher pay-outs in the coming days.

Arif Habib Ltd said the index of representative shares opened in the green and continued to trade with fervent sentiments amid rumours that the government may impose an advance tax on corporate reserves.

Many corporate entities with large piles of cash on their balance sheets have either announced or are likely to declare one-off dividends in order to avoid the tax expected to be imposed via the 2023-24 budget.

The brokerage said the investors opted to add value to their portfolios, propelling the KSE-100 index to an intraday high of 684.59 points.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 41,340.06 points, up 375.52 points or 0.92 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume increased 105.6pc to 346.3 million shares. The traded value went down 5.7pc to $22.4m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (193.9m shares), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Ltd (10.9m shares), K-Electric Ltd (8.9m shares), D.G. Khan Cement Company Ltd (6.4m shares) and Globe Residency REIT (5.6m shares).

Sectors contributing the most to the index performance were technology and communication (114.7 points), fertiliser (56.8 points), exploration and production (53.2 points), cement (39.9 points) and miscellaneous (30 points).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs202), Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (Rs85.88), Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs82.50), Bhanero Textile Mills Ltd (Rs75.02) and Siemens Pakistan Engineering Ltd (Rs51).

Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs142), Bata Pakistan Ltd (Rs60), Khyber Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs23.35), Abbott Laboratories Ltd (Rs6.24) and Lucky Core Industries Ltd (Rs6.09).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $3.8m.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2023