KARACHI: The Pakistan equity market witnessed a lackluster session on Friday where investors remained cautious ahead of the government’s dialogue with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which resumed on May 18.
An analyst at JS Global said that the market remained range bound during the day, starting at negative 44 points before closing in at 117 points positive.
“Investors remained cautious hoping for a political outcome which would bring clarity towards the direction of the index. Going forward, the outlook for the market remains dull where investors should opt for a cautious approach keeping an eye out for events such as the roll over week, Monetary Policy Committee announcement, talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and any further political developments,” he added.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index gained 0.27 per cent, or 117.26 points, to close at 43,100.71 points. The KSE-30 shares Index gained 0.10 per cent, or 17.04 points, to close at 16,367.11 points.
As many as 321 scrips were active of which 179 advanced, 107 declined and 35 remained unchanged.
The ready market volumes stood at 189.92 million shares, compared with the turnover of 187.10 million shares in the last trading session.
Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said that the stocks recovered higher as investors weigh upbeat data of $623 million current account deficit in April 2022, and speculations over the likely release of $1 billion amid ongoing negotiations between Pakistan and the IMF.
“Easing political noise and higher global crude oil prices and expectations of reduction in imports amid government’s ban on import of luxury products played a catalyst role in the bullish close,” he added.
The companies which reflected the highest gains included Sapphire Fiber up Rs69.79 to close at Rs1,092.79/share, and Colgate Palm up Rs41.48 to close at Rs2,152/share.
The companies which reflected the most losses included Nestle Pakistan
down Rs19.99 to close at Rs5,780/share, and Rafhan Maize down Rs10 to close at Rs9,990/share.
The highest volumes were witnessed in K-Electric Ltd with a turnover of 19.21 million shares. The scrip shed 1 paisa to close at Rs2.58/share, followed by K-Electric Ltd with a turnover of 17 million shares. It gained 6 paisas to close at Rs1.28/share. Pak Elektron remained the third with a turnover of 16.45 million shares. It gained 42 paisas to finish at Rs16.05/share.
