KARACHI: Pakistan stocks managed to overcome the pressure and end the day positively with the support of fresh buying in cement, banking and automobile sectors. The market remained range-bound due to selling in oil stocks.
The Karachi Share Index (KSE-100) gained 136.87 points (0.3 per cent) after closing at 45,544.2 points against the previous closing of 45,407.33 points. The market went as high as 45,593.61 points during intra-day trading while recorded as low as 45,255.55 points. According to PSX website data, trading volume declined to 409.6 million shares today compared to 440.9 million traded in the previous session.
The daily traded value increased to Rs 25.6 billion from Rs 22.09 billion in the previous session, the data said.
During the day, the market remained under pressure and range bound as energy and oil sector stocks remained on selling, followed by a recent fall in crude prices in international markets, traders and analysts said. However, some positive news related to construction and related sectors managed to attract investors interest, they added.
In its recent statement, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said for the development of the housing and construction sector, the central bank has taken various regulatory steps to enhance banks/DFIs participation through their financing in these sectors’ development. To boost activities in these sectors further, the SBP has now made changes to certain provisions of existing Prudential Regulations for Corporate & Commercial Banking to encourage enhanced participation and investment of banks/DFIs in the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). However, the decline in crude prices kept the energy and oil sector companies under pressure on inventory losses estimates, the traders and analyst said. With a sizable weight of these stocks, the market remained range-bound most of the day, they added.
Oil prices dipped by more than 4 per cent early on Tuesday, weighed down by concerns about immediate demand and speculators liquidating long positions. Crude prices were trading below the $60 a barrel mark, at $59.02, down by 4.13% on the day. Brent Crude was down by 4.18% at $61.92.
The share price of Colgate Palmolive increased by Rs 86.20 to Rs 2,837, while Bata Pakistan gained Rs 46 to Rs 2,050. On the other hand, Unilever Foods lost Rs 500 today to close at Rs 14,000, while Philip Morris Pakistan lost Rs 58.50 to close at Rs 1,050.
