KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) managed to close the last trading day of the week in positive with fresh buying in dips and encouraging news from the foreign front. The continuation of the monetary policy by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) also provided a strong reason to investors for selective buying.
KSE-100 index gained 177.22 points (0.4 per cent) to 44,901.31 points against the previous closing of 44,724.09 points. The market went as high as 45,177.4 points during intra-day trading, while recorded as low as 44,399.91 points.
Trading volume declined to 484.6 million shares today as compared to 554.06 million traded in the previous session, according to PSX website data. The daily traded value declined to Rs 21.8 billion from Rs 23.6 billion in the previous session, the data said.
The market opened the day in a negative mood this morning. However, the fresh buying, seemed obvious due to the level of share prices, after correction. The investors only needed some positive news to return on buying that was provided by encouraging developments at foreign political front, traders and analysts said.
Kuwait’s Foreign Minister on his visit to Pakistan said that their country seeks an institutionalised relationship with Pakistan. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to work closely towards further strengthening and expanding bilateral cooperation in diverse fields.
The market sentiments were also supported by expected continuation in monetary policy stance by the central bank as the announcement was due this evening, traders and analyst said.
The Monetary Policy Committee of SBP has decided to maintain the policy rate at 7%. This was decided in a meeting today. In addition, the committee commented that since the last meeting in January, growth and employment have continued to recover and business sentiments have further improved.
The share price of Unilever Foods increased by Rs 320 to Rs 14,200 while National Refinery gained Rs 36.27 to Rs 582.78. On the other hand, Nestle Pakistan lost Rs 145 today to close at Rs 5,855 while Indus Motor Company lost Rs 62.90 to close at Rs 1,037.28.
