KARACHI: On Monday, the first day of the rollover week, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) mainly overlooked political turmoil, posting moderate gains as investors concentrated on good economic data.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan’s current account deficit narrowed “dramatically” to $0.5 billion, its lowest level in the current fiscal year 2021-22.
Additionally, Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin promised the public that negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the seventh review of the $6 billion loan program will conclude this week, boosting investor confidence.
Additionally, an agreement between the government and Barrick Gold Corporation on Reko Diq maintained an optimistic investment atmosphere.
The KSE-100 index closed up 200.25 points, or 0.47 percent, at 43,230.22 points.
Arif Habib Limited observed in its post-market comments that the benchmark KSE-100 index remained in the green zone today, despite a 78 percent decline in the current account deficit in February.
“Moreover, the Balochistan federal and provincial governments have inked a new deal with Canada’s Barrick Gold Corporation for the mining of gold and copper deposits from Reko Diq, including a $10 billion investment,” it claimed.
Meanwhile, in the exploration and production sector, Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) and Pakistan Petroleum (PPL) retained their prominence, as the federal government’s 25% stake will be evenly distributed among three state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – Oil and Gas Development Corporation Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), and Government Holdings Pakistan Limited (GHPL).
“Mainboard activity remained subdued,” the brokerage firm stated, adding that activity stayed sideways as the market saw robust volumes in third-tier equities.
Fertilizer (+58.6 points), cement (+37.8 points), exploration and production (+24.4 points), banks (+21 points), and investment banks (+17.2 points) all contributed to the performance.
During the session, 317 businesses’ shares were exchanged. 165 scrips ended the day in the green, 126 in the red, and 26 stayed unchanged.
Overall trading volume decreased to 124.94 million shares from 180.43 million on Friday. During the day, Rs3.93 billion worth of shares were exchanged.
Summit Bank was the most actively traded stock, with 16.07 million shares changing hands for a gain of Rs2.86 to settle at Rs0.53. It was followed by Hum Network Limited, which traded 8.92 million shares and gained Rs0.24 to settle at Rs6.53, and WorldCall Telecom, which traded 7.97 million shares but lost Rs0.03 to close at Rs1.47.
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