PSX crosses 157,500 mark in morning session

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a powerful rally in early trading on Thursday, with the benchmark KSE-100 index climbing sharply on the second last trading day of the week. The market opened in positive territory and surged by more than 1,100 points within the first ten minutes of trade.

Early surge lifts index above 157,500

At around 9:36 AM, the benchmark index had risen by 1,124.34 points to reach 157,302.15, with an initial trading volume of over 30.6 million shares.

By 9:45 AM, the market remained firmly in the green as the index stood at 156,978.85, up by 801.04 points with the volume swelling to nearly 49.3 million shares. The bullish momentum continued as the index extended gains further around 9:59 AM, surging by 1,357.55 points to hit 157,535.36 on a volume of more than 100 million shares.

By 10:04 AM, the PSX was seen hovering around 157,531.02, showing an intraday gain of 1,353.21 points or 0.87 percent. The market has so far recorded an intraday high of 157,590.52 and a low of 156,978.85, with overall traded volume reaching around 106.7 million shares during this time.

On a broader scale, the benchmark index has soared 95.78 percent over the past year and is up 36.83 percent year-to-date. In terms of day range, the market has so far moved between 156,978.85 and 157,590.52, while over the past 52 weeks it has traded from a low of 79,798.75 to a high of 157,816.77.

Market movers: top gainers and losers

Among individual stocks, several names stood out as top gainers in the broader market. FPJM jumped to Rs6.58 after gaining 17.92 percent, while DWSM climbed 15.46 percent to Rs7.47. CSIL rose 10.98 percent to Rs4.85, FIBLM added 10.52 percent to Rs10.51, and AMBL gained 10.03 percent to reach Rs11.30.

PACE also moved up 10.03 percent to Rs11.52, while BOP advanced 10 percent to Rs23.88. Other notable risers included ASLCPS at Rs73.96, HAEL at Rs27.85, and MSCL at Rs16.98, each up nearly 10 percent.

On the flip side, a handful of PSX stocks came under selling pressure. ASLPS dropped 10 percent to Rs22.50, while FIMM slipped 6.04 percent to Rs260. GUSM lost 6 percent to Rs9.40, IDRT shed 5.88 percent to Rs30.75, and GEMBLUEX fell 5.76 percent to Rs63.99. Other losers included JSGBETF, DADX, JKSM, ALNRS and GSPM, which all saw declines between 3 and 5 percent.

KSE-100 constituents see mixed trend

Within the KSE-100 index constituents, some heavyweights traded in the red. JVDC slipped 1.22 percent, JDWS dropped 1.21 percent, GADT fell 1.20 percent, while TRG eased 0.84 percent and NESTLE was down 0.72 percent.

However, a number of major stocks pulled the index higher, including BOP which surged 10 percent, KTML which rose 3.66 percent, DGKC up 2.67 percent, FCCL gaining 2.47 percent, MARI climbing 2.05 percent, PSO up 1.58 percent, and HBL which advanced 1.29 percent.

Wednesday’s session saw muted close

The surge comes after the PSX had closed Wednesday’s session marginally lower at 156,177.81, slipping by just 3.13 points. The index had traded within a wide range of 1,236.23 points during that session, touching an intraday high of 157,196.58 and a low of 155,960.35, with total volumes at 367.85 million shares.

Market performance on Wednesday had been dragged down by Oil and Gas Exploration Companies, Power Generation and Distribution, Commercial Banks, Oil and Gas Marketing Companies and Fertilisers.

The biggest drags were HUBC, MEBL, PPL, OGDC and UBL. On the other hand, Technology and Communication, Cement, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Automobile Assemblers and Textile Composites had supported the index, led by strong contributions from SYS, LUCK, BOP, TPLRF1 and SAZEW.

As trading continues, investors are keeping a close eye on whether today’s early bullish momentum sustains through the session and carries the benchmark index closer to its all-time high.