KARACHI: On Wednesday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained its bullish trend with support from oil and energy shares as oil prices touched 11 months high. The KSE-100 index closed with gains for the second day in a row on Wednesday.
The Karachi Share Index (KSE-100) gained 169.92 points (0.37 per cent) after closing at 46,091.96 points against the previous closing of 45,922.04 points. The market went as high as 46,395.92 points during intra-day trading, while recorded as low as 45,922.04 points.
The main reason behind this was the ongoing rally in oil sector in the international market and expectations of dividend payouts in the banking sector.
Trading volume increased to 845.28 million shares today as compared to 825.89 million traded in the previous session, according to PSX website data. The daily traded value increased to Rs 26.86 billion from Rs 21.13 billion in the previous session, the data said.
The market opened on a bullish note on the back of the heavy weight oil & gas sector tracking the sustained strength in due current rise in international oil prices. However, it was unable to sustain momentum at higher levels as broad profit taking by local institutions pared some intraday gains but the wide spread trading interest kept the investors coming back for fresh positions.
Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday, with the Brent crude trading above $57 per barrel, due to decline of stockpiles in the US.The March contract of Brent crude futures on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is currently trading at $57.37 per barrel, higher by 1.40 per cent from its previous close.
Oil prices are set to rebound to above $60 per barrel this year as vaccines are rolled out and economies around the world begin to recover, an oil analyst said on Wednesday.
The share price of Nestle Pakistan increased by Rs 74.60 to Rs 6,735 while Sapphire Fiber gained Rs 68 to Rs 988. On the other hand, Colgate Palmolive lost Rs 100 today to close at Rs 3,100 while Bhanero Textile lost Rs 66.55 to close at Rs 858.44.
