Stocks slightly up amid dull trade

Stocks closed slightly higher on Tuesday amid dull trade, as investors remained cautious about political and economic uncertainty in the country, traders said.

The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index closed slightly higher by 82 points or 0.20 percent to 40,082.37 points against 40,000.37 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 40,204.40 points while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 40,000.37 points.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said a positive session was recorded at the PSX. “The market opened in the green zone and traded in the same range during the trading session reaching an intraday high of 203.47 points as investors chose to be vigilant due to the ongoing political and economic uncertainty,” it reported. “Investors’ involvement remained dull throughout the day, as volumes in the mainboard dried up while 3rd tier stocks continued to dominate the volume board.”

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said, “Stocks closed bullish as investors weigh surging global crude oil prices and rupee stability.”

Speculations about Pakistan- IMF resolution over the revival of the bailout programme and easing political noise had played a catalyst role in the bullish close, he added. KSE-30 index also increased by 40.42 points or 0.27 percent to 14,827.30 points compared with 14,786.88 points recorded in the last session.

Traded shares rose by 23 million shares to 87.215 million shares from 64.511 million shares. The trading value increased to Rs3.312 billion from Rs2.501 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs6.137 trillion from Rs6.107 trillion. Out of 300 companies active in the session, 136 closed in green, 134 in red and 30 remained unchanged.

According to Muhammad Arbash, analyst at Topline Securities, equities closed slightly positive where the benchmark KSE100 Index settled at a 40,082 level (up 0.20 percent). The market had opened and remained positive throughout the day, he added.

HBL, FFC and MCB were the major contributors in the trading session, which cumulatively added 71 points to KSE100 Index.

The highest increase was recorded in shares of Unilever Foods, which rose by Rs575 to Rs18,500 per share, followed by Rafhan Maize, which increased by Rs531.49 to Rs8,088.99 per share. A significant decline was noted in shares of Pak Services, which fell by Rs82 to Rs1,017 per share, followed by Blessed Tex., which decreased by Rs27.74 to Rs342.25 per share.

Sectors contributing to the performance included commercial banks (+30.7 points), fertilizers (+24.5 points), food & personal care products (+21.2 points), tobacco (+15.5 points), and inv. banks / inv. cos. / securities cos. (+13.8 points).

Telecard Limited remained the volume leader with 23.781 million shares which closed higher by 86 paisas to Rs8.15 per share. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 4.170 million shares, which remained unchanged at Rs1.20 per share.

Other significant turnover stocks included K-Electric Ltd., Habib BankXD, D.G.K. Cement, Maple Leaf, Highnoon (Lab), The Searle Co., TRG Pak Ltd and Fauji Cement. Shares’ turnover in the future contracts surged to 210.983 million shares from 81.422 million shares.