Stocks manage modest gains in choppy session

KARACHI: Stock prices inched up on Monday in a mixed trading session on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.

Arif Habib Ltd said stocks traded on the lower side initially but the trend line shifted afterwards as the index of representative shares started moving both ways. The delay in the conclusion of a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) coupled with ongoing political uncertainty kept investors at bay.

JS Global said the market volumes rose even though the increase was restricted to a handful of stocks. The broader market remained lacklustre in terms of volumes, it added.

As a result, the KSE-100 index settled at 40,000.37 points, up 58.32 points or 0.15 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume increased 38.1pc to 64.5 million shares. The traded value went up 93.3pc to $8.8m on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom Ltd (5m shares), Meezan Bank Ltd (4.7m shares), Telecard Ltd (4.3m shares), Fauji Cement Company Ltd (4.3m shares) and TRG Pakistan Ltd (2.7m shares).

Sectors contributing the most to the index performance were technology and communication (48.3 points), fertiliser (32.5 points), commercial banking (six points), cement (six points) and chemical (3.9 points).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs54.95), Sapphire Textile Mills Ltd (Rs49.39), Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs40.98), Premium Textile Mills Ltd (Rs30) and Khyber Textile Mills Ltd (Rs22.32).

Companies that recorded the biggest declines in their share prices in absolute terms were Rafhan Maize Products Company Ltd (Rs412.50), Ismail Industries Ltd (Rs24.90), Gatron Industries Ltd (Rs20.08), Hinopak Motors Ltd (Rs11) and Pakistan Tobacco Company Ltd (Rs10).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $0.1m.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2023