Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Monday closed higher following positive investor sentiment. BRIndex100 gained some 50.61 points or 1.65 percent to close at 3,126.42 points compared to 3,075.81 points last Friday. It touched intraday high of 3,142.86 points and intraday low of 3,075.81 points. Trading volume stood at 68.717 million. WorldCall was the most traded company in BRIndex100 with a volume of 12.193 million shares. BRIndex30 opened at 15,707.71 points. It touched intraday high of 16,147.47 points and intraday low of 15,707.71 points to close at 16,015.56 points, which was 307.85 points or 1.96 percent higher than previous close. Volume at BRIndex30 stood at 49.338 million.
The market kicked off the day on a bright note, touching intraday high of 506 points. The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 30,057.29 points against 29,672.12 points on Friday, showing an increase of 385.17 points of 1.3 percent.
Share traded volumes decreased by 30 percent to 77 million shares down from 110 million in the previous session. The market capitalization increased by Rs 57 billion to reach Rs 6.139 trillion.
Analysts said that after encountering a technical glitch at the start, the index progressed well, led by across-the-board buying in E&P, banks, cement and steel sectors. The main reason behind the surge in the index can be attributed to resolution of a host of measures approved by SECP over the weekend that helped investors take a positive view on equities, they added.
Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Limited said that stocks closed higher amid thin trade on investor speculations in the post earnings season rally at the PSX amid strong financial results in banking, fertilizer and energy scrips. Reports of PM meeting with the SBP to review revision on interest rates and the market liquidity, hopes for Kashmir tensions as the EU considers Indian Held Kashmir situation, government resolve on privatization of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and rupee stability played a catalytic role in bullish close, he added.
WorldCall was the volume leader with 12.19 million shares. It gained Re 0.07 to close at Rs 0.82 followed by Maple Leaf, which increased by Re. 0.48 to Rs 17.67 with 6.25 million. Oil and Gas Dev. was the third highest scrip with 4.138 million volume, closing at Rs 105.96, up Re 1.40.
Colgate Palmolive and Bhanero Textile were the top gainers with Rs 80.00 and Rs 38.10 to close at Rs 1,750.00 and Rs 800.10, respectively. Murree Brewery and Sanofi-Aventis were the top losers with Rs 25.50 and Rs 24.80 to Rs 741.50 and Rs 471.58, respectively. BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 4,748.37 points with a net positive change of 5.14 points or a percentage change of 0.11 and a turnover of 786,800.
BR Cement Index closed at 2,700.51 points with a net positive change of 27.06 points or a percentage change of 1.01 and a turnover of 10,344,300.
BR Commercial Banks Index closed at 7,285.50 points with a net positive change of 106.09 points or a percentage change of 1.48 and a turnover of 5,587,400. BR Power Generation and Distribution Index closed at 4,128.66 points with a net positive change of 67.46 points or a percentage change of 1.66 and a turnover of 5,247,000.
BR Oil and Gas Index closed at 3,168.42 points with a net positive change of 62.28 points or a percentage change of 2.01 and a turnover of 9,547,640.
BR Tech. & Comm. Index closed at 633.11 points with a net positive change of 17.2 points or a percentage change of 2.79 and a turnover of 16,567,000.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) extended the day's session closing time by 15 minutes to 3:45pm on Monday as the market commenced the trading at 10:15 am instead of the regulator time at 9:30 am due to technical reason.
The extension was announced following the market resumed the day trading with a delay of 45 minutes. According to PSX notices due to some technical issues the trading system of the exchange could not be launched, therefore, trading was temporarily suspended by PSX on Monday morning.