There was no stopping the bulls at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), as the benchmark KSE-100 Index ended the week’s last session with a gain of over 1,300 points on Friday.
The market maintained a positive momentum throughout the first half of the trading session, pushing the benchmark index to an intra-day high of 167,005.05.
At close, the KSE-100 Index settled at 166,677.69, a gain of 1,304.39 points or 0.79%.
“This positivity can be accredited to off late buying by local institutions as indicated by National Clearing Company of Pakistan data. Apart from it news that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed Federal Board of Revenue, the national tax agency, to reduce the rate of super tax imposed on large companies also provided further stimulus to the market,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its post-market report.
Top positive contribution to the index came from SYS, PPL, HUBC, OGDC and LUCK, as they cumulatively contributed 609 points to the exchange, Topline said.
On Thursday, PSX recorded a strongly bullish session with gains across all major indices, improved market breadth, and substantial activity in both the ready and futures markets. The benchmark KSE-100 Index surged by 2,184.78 points to close at 165,373.31
Internationally, Asian shares are set to end a tough November on steadier ground as revived hopes of an imminent US rate cut helped soothe valuation jitters and sent Treasuries rallying for a fourth straight month.
US markets, which were closed overnight for the Thanksgiving holiday, are due for a shortened session on Friday, so activity is more muted than usual across the major asset classes. European stocks traded mostly higher, while currencies were much more sedate.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was flat on Friday, leaving it on track for a 3% gain in the week, the first weekly rise in four. For the month, it was still down 2.7%.
Japan’s Nikkei was also little moved and was headed for a weekly rise of 3.2%. For the month, it was, however, down 4.3%.
South Korean shares were, however, down 1% after the country’s central bank held rates steady and signalled an end to the easing cycle. Still, the index is up 2.5% in the week.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani rupee strengthened against the US dollar, appreciating 0.01% in the inter-bank market on Friday. At close, the local currency settled at 280.52, a gain of Re0.03 against the greenback.
Volume on the all-share index increased to 592.75 million from 498.36 million recorded in the previous close. The value of shares rose to Rs41.97 billion from Rs30.59 billion in the previous session.
Sui South GasXD was the volume leader with 39.18 million shares, followed by B.O.Punjab with 34.17 million shares, and WorldCall Telecom with 32.86 million shares.
Shares of 478 companies were traded on Friday, of which 238 registered an increase, 199 recorded a fall, and 41 remained unchanged.
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