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KARACHI: Amid mixed trading, the benchmark KSE 100 index stayed in the green zone, closing the session at a new high despite losing most of the early gains on late profit-taking on Thursday.
Topline Securities Ltd said the market experienced a volatile trading session, with the index fluctuating sharply between an intraday high of 1,359 points and a low of 150 points. Ultimately, the benchmark index settled at 117,119, marking a modest gain of 111 points, or 0.10pc day-on-day.
Investors appeared to capitalise on the heightened market activity, opting to book profits after recent gains. This led to mixed sentiment across sectors, with select stocks facing selling pressure while others managed to sustain upward momentum.
Key contributors to the upward trajectory included Engro Fertiliser, Engro Corporation, Millat Tractor, Dawood Hercules and Habib Bank, collectively adding 779 points. On the other hand, substantial declines in OGDCL, Pakistan Petroleum, Mari Petroleum, PSO, and Hub Power weighed heavily on the market, accounting for a combined loss of 485 points.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market continued its record-setting spree for the second straight day amid upbeat inflation data hitting an almost seven-year low at 4.1pc for December and the prime minister’s affirmation on macroeconomic stability eyeing record revenue receipts, surging exports by 10.52pc for July-December and projections for $35bn remittances in FY25.
Ali Najib, Head of Sales at Insight Securities, said the trading began bullishly due to aggressive buying interest in fertiliser, autos, and banking sectors, helping the index hit an all-time intraday high at 118,368.
The trading volume rose 8.53pc to 1.03 billion shares while the traded value increased 0.28pc to Rs46.57bn day-on-day.
Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Fauji Foods (89.47m shares), WorldCall Telecom (72.00m shares), Telecard Ltd (61.07m shares), Cnergyico PK (52.17m shares) and The Bank of Punjab (37.38m shares).
The shares registering the most significant increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Hallmark Company (Rs85.23), Exide Pakistan (Rs80.86), Millat Tractors (Rs65.71), PIA Holding Co [B] (Rs62.39) and Al-Ghazi Tractors (Rs57.24).
The companies registering significant decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Indus Motor (Rs96.96), Sazgar Engineering Works Ltd (Rs29.34), Ghandhara Industries (Rs24.86), Lucky Core Industries (Rs23.65) and Service Industries (Rs22.09).
Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2025
