PSX closes in red, declining by 83.29 points

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange’s (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 index ended Friday’s trading session at 78,444.96 points, marking a decline of 83.29 points or 0.11 per cent.

Throughout the session, the index fluctuated within a range of 471.87 points, peaking at an intraday high of 78,784.23 points and dipping to a low of 78,312.36 points.

Trading volume for the KSE-100 index stood at 206.49 million shares. Out of the 100 companies on the index, 45 saw their shares rise, 48 experienced declines, and 7 remained unchanged.

The index was primarily dragged down by the Commercial Banks sector, which contributed to a loss of 112.89 points. Other sectors pulling the index lower included Power Generation & Distribution (-34.56 points), Oil & Gas Exploration Companies (-32.52 points), Oil & Gas Marketing Companies (-14.54 points), and Automobile Parts & Accessories (-13.46 points).

Conversely, the Cement sector bolstered the index with a gain of 36.29 points. Additional support came from the Food & Personal Care Products sector (+34.28 points), Miscellaneous sector (+29.75 points), Tobacco sector (+21.18 points), and Pharmaceuticals sector (+20.74 points).

Among individual companies, MCB Bank was the largest detractor, pulling the index down by 131.09 points. Other notable laggards included UBL (-61.72 points), HUBC (-41.80 points), OGDC (-36.96 points), and BAHL (-23.03 points).

On the other hand, FABL provided significant support with a gain of 52.29 points, followed by MEBL (+36.63 points), PSEL (+23.75 points), PAKT (+21.18 points), and PTC (+18.88 points).

In the broader market, the All-Share index closed at 49,683.75 points, registering a net loss of 196.52 points or 0.40 per cent. Total market volume reached 347.67 million shares, up from 283.54 million in the previous session, with the traded value rising to Rs11.90 billion, an increase of Rs0.83 billion.

A total of 166,568 trades were reported across 435 companies, with 189 advancing, 170 declining, and 76 remaining unchanged.

Best yearly return in over two decades

The Pakistan stock market achieved its best yearly return in over two decades, fueled by optimism about improved economic conditions, attractive valuations, and the central bank’s monetary easing.

The KSE-100 Index soared 89.2 per cent to 78,444.9 points in the fiscal year ending June 2024, the highest gain since FY 2003. In USD terms, it rose 94.4 per cent, making it the top-performing market among over 80 global equity indexes.

According to Metis Global, the rally started after Pakistan avoided a sovereign debt default, aided by the IMF’s $3 billion loan programme, which also boosted forex reserves by 99 per cent to $8.9 billion.

Market participation increased, with trading volume up 140 per cent and value in USD terms rising 118 per cent.

Read next: Gold price increases by Rs700 per tola