KARACHI: Bulls remained in control of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday as state-owned enterprises listed on the bourse expressed interest in taking equity stakes in a $10-11 billion greenfield refinery project, which will jointly be developed with Saudi Aramco.
Arif Habib Ltd said the momentum can now pause and become more selective with correction in some stocks.
The KSE-100 index crossed the 47,000-point level after 21 months. It has gained 5,624 points or 13.6 per cent since the signing of a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month.
According to Topline Securities, the PSX has been the best-performing bourse globally in July with a 14.6pc gain in dollar terms.
Shares in banking and energy sectors led the show with Habib Bank Ltd, which announced its earnings a day ago, along with Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd, the Hub Power Company Ltd, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd and Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd witnessing rejuvenated interest.
As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 47,077 points, up 394.47 points or 0.85pc from the preceding session.
The overall trading volume increased 5.9pc to 455.1 million shares. The traded value went up 26.4pc to Rs17.8bn on a day-on-day basis.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (40.1m shares), K-Electric Ltd (30.2m shares), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (28.5m shares), Hascol Petroleum Ltd (23.9m shares) and Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (20.5m shares).
Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs250), Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs90), Mehmood Textile Mills Ltd (Rs44), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (Rs28.71) and Lucky Core Industries Ltd (Rs23.88).
Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Faisal Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs29.47), Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs25.01), Siemens Pakistan Engineering Ltd (Rs21), Towellers Ltd (Rs10.85) and the Thal Industries Corporation Ltd (Rs9.98).
Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $0.86m.
Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2023
