KARACHI: The KSE-100 index maintained its upward journey on Friday to close at yet another record peak.

Topline Securities Ltd said the index gathered pace initially and hit an intraday high of 660 points.

However, fear kicked in afterwards as investors preferred to book some of their gains before the end of trading.

According to Arif Habib Ltd, the index saw a balanced advance-to-decline ratio of stocks (45/52), which led to another strong week for the Pakistan Stock Exchange in the shape of a 3.63 per cent increase in the benchmark on a week-on-week basis.

The focus next week will remain on the KSE-100 index achieving the 60,000-point level, with activity expected to stay more sector-specific, it added.

JS Global Capital said investors should take advantage of any opportunity to buy stocks in banking, technology and exploration and production sectors.

As a result, the KSE-100 index closed at 59,086.35 points after gaining 186.51 points or 0.32 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume decreased 1.6pc to 658.4 million shares. The traded value decreased 12.7pc to Rs22 billion on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (66.8m shares), Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (38.9m shares), TPL Properties Ltd (27.4m shares), Symmetry Group Ltd (18.6m shares) and K-Electric Ltd (16.7m shares).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs161.30), Hoechst Pakistan Ltd (Rs81.97), Ismail Industries Ltd (Rs69.88), Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs67.50) and Pakistan Services Ltd (Rs60.43).

Companies registering the biggest decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Unilever Pakistan Foods Ltd (Rs500), Premium Textile Mills Ltd (Rs24), Indus Motor Company Ltd (Rs20.31), Blessed Textiles Ltd (Rs13.05) and Highnoon Laboratories Ltd (Rs10.84).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $2.63m.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2023