Banks lead rally at PSX as KSE-100 gains 123 points

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a positive session on Tuesday, as its benchmark KSE-100 Index closed 123 points higher on the banking sector’s strength.

The KSE-100 witnessed some profit-taking at the start of the session, hitting an intra-day low of 74,958.10.

However, the index gained ground on a buying spree in the latter hours and closed in the green.

At close, the KSE-100 settled at 75,206.77, up by 122.77 points or 0.16%.

“The benchmark index ended the day on a positive note, mainly propelled by banks contributing 267 points to the index, and sustained foreign buying,” brokerage house Ismail Iqbal Securities said in its post-market report.

Other than commercial banks, technology & communication and automobile assembler sectors were also positive contributors, according to the brokerage house.

Meanwhile, E&Ps, fertiliser, cement, and power closed in the red, it added.

On Monday, the KSE-100 witnessed some consolidation as it snapped a 7-session rally and closed lower by 258 points.

On the economic front, Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) posted modest growth of 2.09% during the 3rd quarter of the current fiscal year 2023-24, the National Accounts Committee (NAC) said after its 109th meeting on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, inflows through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) clocked in at $171 million in April, a fall of over 6% compared to $182 million in March 2024, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said.

Power generation in the country clocked in at 8,639 GWh (11,612 MW) in April 2024, 13.7% lower as compared to the same period of the previous year.

Asian stocks drifted lower while the dollar held firm on Tuesday as investors awaited minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting to gauge the timing and extent of possible interest rate cuts this year.

Another brokerage house Topline Securities in its post-market report said the KSE-100 experienced a mixed session, reaching an intraday high of 398 points and an intraday low of 125 points.

According to Topline, KEL led the volumes chart with just over 40.9 million shares traded, following the news that the power regulator has approved a seven-year plan for K-Electric.

The Pakistani rupee registered a marginal decline against the US dollar, depreciating 0.03% in the inter-bank market on Tuesday. At close, the local unit settled at 278.39, a loss of Re0.09 against the greenback, as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Volume on the all-share index increased to 462.30 million from 375.36 million a session ago.

The value of shares declined to Rs15.87 billion from Rs16.30 billion in the previous session.

K-Electric Ltd was the volume leader with 40.93 million shares, followed by Dewan Cement with 38.49 million shares, and Symmetry Group Ltd with 32.85 million shares.

Shares of 381 companies were traded on Tuesday, of which 174 registered an increase, 184 recorded a fall, while 23 remained unchanged.