• The monthly inflation number came in lower than expected at 23.2 percent, while the cost of electricity declined by 31 percent.
• Imran Khan’s contempt case was quashed by the Islamabad High Court.
• The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index gained 83.03 points, or 0.20 percent to close at 41,211.70 points.

KARACHI: The Pakistan bourse closed in a green zone on Monday after remaining in positive territory throughout the day on the back of improved sentiments, analysts said.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said the monthly inflation number came in lower than expected at 23.2 percent, where the cost of electricity declined 31 percent.

“The rupee continued its upward momentum rising against the dollar in the interbank foreign exchange market. The global oil prices remained lower despite news of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) slowing production,” he added.

“On the political side, Imran Khan’s contempt case was quashed by the Islamabad High Court. Going forward, we expect the market to continue the uptrend. Hence, we recommend our investors adopt the “Buy on Dip” strategy in the upcoming sessions,” he added.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index gained 83.03 points, or 0.20 percent to close at 41,211.70 points. The KSE-30 shares Index gained 73.15 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 15,410.01 points.

An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said the PSX experienced a positive day as investors accumulated high dividend yield stocks and ongoing strengthening of the rupee against the dollar.

“The benchmark KSE-100 Index opened in the green zone and maintained that momentum throughout the majority of the trading session, reaching an intraday high of 275.06 points after Hub Power Company announced an outstanding payout that boosted investor confidence,” he added.

As many as 344 scrips were active of which 140 advanced, 181 declined and 23 remained unchanged.

The ready market volumes stood at 185.36 million shares, compared with the turnover of 205.69 million shares in the last trading session.

The companies which reflected the highest gains included Sapphire Fiber up Rs84.01 to close at Rs1,233/share, and Sapphire Textile up Rs49 to close at Rs1,149/share.

The companies which reflected the most losses included Bata (Pak) down Rs95 to close at Rs2,300/share, and Colgate Palm down Rs26.49 to close at Rs2,103.51/share.

The highest volumes were witnessed in Hub Power Company with a turnover of 30.84 million shares. The scrip gained Rs5.24 to close at Rs75.15/share, followed by TRG Pakistan with a turnover of 15.99 million shares. It gained 72 paisas to close at Rs129.58/share. Habib Bank remained the third with a turnover of 13.16 million shares. It shed Rs1.52 to close at Rs68.19/share.

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