KARACHI: Positive triggers on the economic front led the KSE-100 index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange to open on a favourable note on Friday.

Topline Securities attributed the upward momentum in the first few hours of trading to a statement by the interim prime minister about ensuring the full use of the newly formed Special Investment Facilitation Council aimed at exploiting the vast potential for foreign investment in agriculture, mining and minerals, IT, energy and defence production.

However some profit-taking was observed in the closing hours after Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd informed investors the company hadn’t received any formal communication from authorities on the settlement of the circular debt.

Arif Habib Ltd said the index’s 48,000-point level has been the key intra-week pivot, which will remain in focus in the coming week as well.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 48,218.50 points, down 107.34 points or 0.22 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume increased 12.2pc to 254.8 million shares. The traded value increased 3.9pc to Rs10.4 billion on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (40.4m shares), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (27.9m shares), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (19.8m shares), K-Electric Ltd (12.3m shares) and Pakistan Refinery Ltd (11.2m shares).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs140.70), Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs100), Bata Pakistan Ltd (Rs16), Murree Brewery Company Ltd (Rs15.26) and Khyber Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs13.73).

Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs91.50), Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs86.89), Bhanero Textile Mills Ltd (Rs35), Exide Pakistan Ltd (Rs13.63), Lucky Cement Ltd (Rs9.76) and Indus Motor Company Ltd (Rs8.77).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $0.16m.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2023