KARACHI: The KSE-100 Index surged beyond the 57,000-point level, concluding the trading session at a new record high on Thursday.

Topline Securities Ltd said the upward trend was a result of the successful staff-level agreement reached between the Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani authorities under a $3 billion Stand-By Arrang­ement.

Furthermore, the auction of treasury bills held a day ago also reinforced the market’s perception that interest rates have peaked and, therefore, the policy rate would slowly go down in the coming months.

Exploration and production as well as fertiliser sectors contributed to the closing of the index on the higher side.

Arif Habib Ltd said the short-term range of 56,200-56,800 points has been breached on the higher side, which raises the near-term support to 56,800 points. “Near-term weakness in cement names is setting up long opportunities,” it added.

As a result, the KSE-100 index closed at 57,397.03 points after gaining 716.96 points or 1.26 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume increased 59.7pc to over one billion shares. The traded value increased 18.5pc to Rs28.8bn on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (386.3m shares), Cnergyico PK Ltd (45.1m shares), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (39.5m shares), Pak Elektron Ltd (29.1m shares) and Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (28.7m shares).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs400), Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs55), Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs50), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (Rs40.30) and Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (Rs33.02).

Companies registering the biggest decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Bhanero Textile Mills Ltd (Rs14.89), Faisal Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs13.96), Mehmood Textile Mills Ltd (Rs13.65), Pakistan Hotels Developers Ltd (Rs8.70) and Millat Tractors Ltd (Rs8.34).

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2023

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Abject failure
Updated 06 Dec, 2023

Abject failure

Nepra must also order an internal inquiry to determine why its own officials dragged their feet and failed to take appropriate action against overbilling.
Hidden scars
06 Dec, 2023

Hidden scars

IN Pakistan, the spectre of gender-based violence casts a long, oppressive shadow over women and girls. Rooted in...
Organ trafficking
06 Dec, 2023

Organ trafficking

DESPITE legal safeguards being in place to crack down on the illicit organ transplantation racket, it is clear that...
Chilas bus attack
Updated 05 Dec, 2023

Chilas bus attack

Locals, particularly in Diamer and Kohistan, need to be on board to ensure that militants have no place to hide.
State’s insecurities
05 Dec, 2023

State’s insecurities

ONE hopes that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor’s recent remarks regarding the ‘less-than-ideal’ security...
Underage driving
05 Dec, 2023

Underage driving

SIX lives — all members of a single family — were recently lost in Lahore to the unabated menace of underage...