KSE-100 Index gains 35 points amid higher global oil prices

KARACHI: The Pakistan equity market opened on a positive note on account of higher international oil prices, but the positivity didn’t sustain as the market witnessed profit taking in the last hours, dealers said.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said that the bourse started the day in a positive zone and crossed the psychological barrier of 46,000, where late profit taking in the technology sector was observed.

“Investors’ interest seems to be affected as the country reported highest Covid cases since September 23. Furthermore, political deliberations over the finance bill kept ruling the market activities,” he added.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index gained 0.08 per cent, or 35.12 points, to close at 45,916.25 points. The KSE-30 shares Index gained 0.08 per cent, or 13.87 points, to close at 18,070.4 points.

As many as 377 scrips were active of which 176 advanced, 169 declined and 32 remained unchanged. The ready market volumes stood at 514.38 million shares, compared with the turnover of 339.1 million shares in the last trading session.

The stocks closed higher amid higher trades led by selected scrips on robust automobile sales, bullish global equities and surge in global crude oil prices, Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said.

“Rupee recovery and the IMF [International Monetary Fund] approval for deferment of EFF [Extended Fund Facility] review played a catalyst role in [the] bullish close.”

Going forward, analysts expect the market to move in positive surroundings, and recommend investors to avail any dip as an opportunity.

The companies reflecting the highest gains included Unilever Foods up Rs649 to close at Rs20,149/share, and Sapphire Fiber up Rs52.27 to close at Rs903.27/share.

The companies reflecting the most losses included Nestle Pakistan down Rs179.94 to close at Rs5,510.06/share, and Rafhan Maize down Rs50 to close at Rs9,850/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in Worldcall Telecom with a turnover of 133.9 million shares. The scrip gained 10 paisas to close at Rs2.53/share, followed by Unity Foods with a turnover of 39.14 million shares, as it gained 15 paisas to close at Rs2.85/share. Hascol Petroleum remained the third with a turnover of 23.43 million shares, gaining 18 paisas to finish at Rs6.9/share.