KARACHI: The Pakistan equity market closed higher on Wednesday following a range-bound session as investors’ opted for a cautious approach due to the uncertain economic and political environment, analysts said.

An analyst at Pearl Securities said that the KSE-100 Index had a volatile session and moved both ways amid mixed trading activities. However, volumes remained low and bearish sentiment was witnessed at the end of the trading session.
“The bourse witnessed a lack of interest due to the absence for any positive trigger. Additionally, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) ninth review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) has been undecided which is worrying the shareholders,” he added.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange KSE-100 shares Index gained 23.32 points, to close at 41,737.62 points. The KSE-30 shares Index gained 32.73 points, to close at 15,463.42 points.
As many as 332 scrips were active of which 126 advanced, 186 declined and 20 remained unchanged.
An analyst at Arif Habib Limited said that the market remained in a range-bound session, where the KSE-100 Index fluctuated in a narrow range throughout the day after opening in the red zone.
“Investors remained on the sidelines due to the prevailing unfavourable economic sentiments and political instability. The volumes remained dried up in the main board, although expectations of a hike in the gas prices kept the Exploration and Production (E&P) sector in the limelight,” he added.
Going forward, the analysts expect the market to remain under pressure due to political instability and the unbalanced economic situation. Hence, suggest investors adopt the “Sell on Strength” strategy in the upcoming sessions.
The ready market volumes stood at 146.71 million shares, compared with the turnover of 144.84 million shares in the last trading session.
The companies which reflected the highest gains included Bhanero Textile up Rs74.10 to close at Rs1,063/share, and Pak Services up Rs67.24 to close at Rs1,279.17/share.
The companies which reflected the most losses included Rafhan Maize down Rs240.01 to close at Rs9,060/share, and Nestle Pakistan down Rs149.99 to close at Rs5,500.01/share.
The highest volumes were witnessed in TPL Properties with a turnover of 15.75 million shares. The scrip gained 27 paisas to close at Rs19.70/share, followed by Unity Foods with a turnover of 8.26 million shares. It gained 40 paisas to close at Rs16.02/share. Dewan Motors remained the third with a turnover of 7.97 million shares. It shed Rs1.24 to close at Rs16.46/share.

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