Stocks on Monday threaded their way to a listless close despite an ease in the consumer price inflation rate for September and rupee’s extended claw-back against the dollar, traders said.
The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE-100 Shares Index closed higher by 83.03 points or 0.20 percent to 41,211.70 points after touching a low of 41,402.91 and 41,092.07 points in the day trade.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, stocks closed higher led by selected scripts on surging global crude oil prices and rupee recovery. Speculations over FATF for exit from the grey list on October 17 meeting, and lower inflation data at 23.2 percent YoY for September catalyzed the positive close, he said.
The KSE-30 index also increased by 73.15 points or 0.48 percent to 15,410.01 points compared with 15,336.86 points recorded in the last session. Traded shares decreased by 20 million shares to 185.369 million shares from 205.699 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs9.382 billion from Rs9.499 billion.
Market capital narrowed to Rs6.775 trillion from Rs6.782 trillion. Out of 344 companies active in the session, 140 closed in green, 181 decreased and 23 remained unchanged. Ali Najib, an analyst at Topline Securities, said equities witnessed a mixed day.
“Initially, the market opened on a positive note on lower-than-expected CPI inflaion numbers,” Najib added. During the session, the index made an intraday high at 41,404 points (+275 points; up 0.67 points) and an intraday low at 41,091 (-38 points; down 0.09 percent) where the value hunting resumed allowing the index to close higher.
The highest increase was recorded in shares of Sapphire Fiber, which rose by Rs84.01 to Rs1,233 per share, followed by Sapphire Textile, which increased by Rs49 to Rs1,149 per share.
A significant decline was noted in shares of Bata (Pak), which fell by R95 to Rs2,300 per share, followed by Colgate Palmolive, which decreased by Rs26.49 to Rs2,103.51 per share.
A major highlight of the day was the announcement of a hefty dividend of Rs15.50 per share by Hub Power Company Ltd (HUBC), which attracted investors’ interest in the stock. The HUBC hit the upper limit for the day at Rs75.15 (up Rs5.24/share; +7.5 percent).
Power, banks, OMCs, tech, and food sector stocks contributed positively to the index where HUBC, BAHL, PSO, SYS, & UNITY added 193 points, cumulatively. On the flipside, HBL, PPL, and FFC witnessed some profit-taking as they lost 58 points, collectively.
Hub Power Co led the volumes chart with 30.842 million shares. It rose by Rs5.24 to Rs75.17 per share. It was followed by TRG Pakistan Ltd with 15.993 million shares that closed higher by 72 paisas to Rs129.58 per share.
Other stocks that recorded significant turnover included Habib Bank, Unity Foods Ltd, Hascol Petrol, TPL Properties, Avanceon Ltd, Cnergyico PK, WorldCall Telecom and Pak International Bulk. Turnover in the futures contracts decreased to 58.008 million shares from 273.189 million shares.