Stock market rebounds: KSE-100 closes 2.7% stronger after recent setback

WEB DESK: In a remarkable turnaround on Tuesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) staged a robust recovery, concluding the session on a positive note following a two-day downturn.

Initial market volatility saw the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index briefly dip below the critical 60,000 mark within the first 15 minutes of trading, driven by subdued investor confidence amid ongoing political uncertainty.

Bulls swiftly entered the market, reversing the downward trend as they capitalised on the opportunity to acquire stocks at discounted prices.

The KSE-100 index surged by an impressive 2.7 per cent, equivalent to 1,614 points from its intraday low, ultimately closing at 61,226.93. This represented a gain of 161.61 points, or 0.26 per cent, compared to the previous session.

PSX closing February 13, 2024

During the trading day, the index fluctuated within a range of 2,041.48 points, reaching an intraday high of 61,654.65 (+589.33) and a low of 59,613.18 (-1,452.14) points.

The total volume of the KSE-100 index reached 253.487 million shares. Notably, the index had suffered a cumulative loss of 3,079 points in the two sessions following the recent elections.

Despite the recent challenges, a somewhat positive quarterly review by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) unfolded for Pakistan.

Three PSX scrips were added to the Frontier Market, and 19 found a place in the Small Cap Indexes. Arif Habib Limited anticipates this review to have a neutral impact on the market.

In today’s session, out of the 100 index companies, 55 closed up, 33 closed down, 5 remained unchanged, and 7 remained untraded.

The KSE-100 index found support from commercial banks, fertilisers, cement, power generation and distribution, and engineering. However, oil and gas exploration companies continued to experience negativity, deducting 199.48 points from the index.

Other sectors contributing negatively included oil and gas marketing companies, automobile parts and accessories, refineries, and pharmaceuticals.

Companies making positive contributions to the index were MARI, EFERT, UBL, HUBC, and MEBL, while OGDC, PPL, PSO, BAHL, and THALL were notable contributors to the decline.

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 41,290.80 with a net loss of 64.52 points. The total market volume reached 435.550 million shares, compared to 349.975 million in the previous session, with a traded value of Rs15.97 billion, reflecting an increase of Rs3.22 billion.

A total of 190,764 trades were reported in 352 companies, with 188 closing up, 136 closing down, and 28 remaining unchanged.

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