KARACHI: Pakistan Stock Exchange regained upward trend after a day of correction yesterday. The market ended the four-day gaining streak yesterday with a light correction that created room for fresh buying today.
Karachi Share Index (KSE-100) ended the day 335.54 points (0.72 per cent) up at 47,126.29 points against the previous closing of 46,790.75 points. The market went as high as 47,248.28 points during intra-day trading, while recorded as low as 46,700.37 points.
Trading volumes declined to 959 million shares today, as compared to 2.22 billion shares yesterday, the level has been seen for the first time in the history of the bourse. The daily traded value also fell to Rs 22.74 billion from Rs 42.8 billion in the previous session, the data said.
The positive news flow from the economic front such as an increase in the country’s foreign reserves and political developments such as talks between Pakistan and Russia boosted investors’ interest in the market, traders and analysts said. Meanwhile, the situation on the COVID-19 front seems quite under control, with the grace of Allah, they added.
According to the latest figures shared by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s forex reserves reached $23,015m. The reserves increased by $88m to $15,862m, due to the government’s official inflows, the central bank said in a statement. The central bank’s foreign exchange reserves, which closed above US$16bn are now on the highest level since July 2017.
Pakistan reported 2,482 new COVID-19 infections while 67 people lost their lives, according to the latest statistics released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). The positivity ratio was recorded at 4.8 per cent across the country.
The share price of Unilever Foods increased by Rs 374 to Rs15,990 while Island Textile gained Rs 167.30 to Rs 2,398.30. On the other hand, Rafhan Maize lost Rs 50 today to close at Rs 9,300 while Colgate Palmolive lost Rs 45 to close at Rs 2,805.
