KARACHI: The benchmark of leading shares showed a “robust upswing” on Thursday to close above the pivotal 50,000-point mark after a gap of six years.

Topline Securities Ltd said the KSE-100 index was largely propelled by the positive investors’ sentiment in the wake of the auction of treasury bills conducted by the central bank a day ago. This auction of government debt securities strongly indicated that the money market believes the all-time-high interest rate has peaked.

“Consequently, it suggests that the market anticipates a forthcoming period characterised by stability or a potential decrease in interest rates,” it added.

Fertiliser and exploration and production sectors made the most significant positive contributions to the index’s rise.

Arif Habib Ltd said blue-chip stocks in the energy sector like Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (7.06 per cent), Engro Corporation Ltd (4.91pc), Hub Power Company Ltd (3.55pc), Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (4.43pc) and Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd (7.5pc) led the upward charge of the KSE-100 index. Meezan Bank Ltd (2.29pc) rose on a massive income jump and Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (7.5pc) increased on its board’s approval for the delisting from the stock exchange.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 50,365.15 points, up 933.67 points or 1.89pc from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume increased 28.5pc to 427.4 million shares. The traded value increased 65.3pc on a day-on-day basis to Rs14.6 billion.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included K-Electric Ltd (83.1m shares), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (37.6m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (25.8m shares), Pakistan Petroleum Ltd (18.9m shares) and Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (18.1m shares).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Unilever Pakistan Foods Ltd (Rs750), Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs90), Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs61.28), Pakistan Hotels Developers and Hotels Ltd (Rs33.25) and Khairpur Sugar Mills Ltd (Rs26.81). Foreign investors were net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $0.05m.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2023