Stocks end flat in range-bound trade

Stocks ended the trading session on Wednesday with negligible movement, as the market remained confined within a narrow range amidst a blend of divergent sentiments, traders said. The Pakistan Stock Exchange's (PSX) benchmark KSE 100-share Index closed flat with a slight increase of 18.02 points or 0.04 percent to 41,117.33 points against 41,099.31 points recorded in the last session. The highest index of the day remained at 41,342.23 points while the lowest level of the day was recorded at 41,064.40 points.

Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said a range-bound session was recorded on Wednesday at the PSX. “The day began with favourable sentiments regarding the news for the renewal of the IMF programme, reaching an intraday high of 242.92 points keeping the PSX in green,” it reported. “However, in the last trading hour profit selling was witnessed resulting in the index to close in the red.” Investor engagement was dilatory, with third-tier equities leading the volume board. KSE-30 index also closed flat with a decline of 11.72 points or 0.08 percent to 14,595.35 points compared with 14,607.07 points recorded in the last session.

Traded shares rose by 14 million shares to 105.572 million shares from 91.494 million shares. The trading value increased to Rs2.576 billion from Rs2.390 billion. Market capital expanded to Rs6.227 trillion from Rs6.200 trillion. Out of 313 companies active in the session, 136 closed in green, 152 in red and 25 remained unchanged.

Analyst Nabeel Haroon at Topline Securities said a lacklustre activity was observed at the exchange as the index traded with low volumes between its intraday high of 243 points and intraday low of -35 points.

Major positive contributions to the index came from POL, NML, NESTLE, HBL & FCEPL, as they cumulatively contributed 63 points to the index. On the flip side, DAWH, SYS, PSO, HUBC & HMB lost value to weigh down on the index by -57 points. The highest increase was recorded in Nestle Pakistan shares, which rose by Rs200 to Rs6,700 per share, followed by Al-Abbas Sugar, which increased by Rs30.38 to Rs435.38 per share. A significant decline was noted in Reliance Cotton, which fell by Rs43.35 to Rs534.82 per share, followed by Premium Tex., which decreased by Rs38.54 to Rs475.36 per share.

Analyst Ahsan Mehanti at Arif Habib Corp said stocks closed in green on easing political noise and speculations in the pre-budget rally at the PSX. He said surging global crude oil prices, and investor expectations for a pro-growth federal budget FY24 had played a catalyst role in a positive close.Sectors contributing to the performance included textile composite (+27.0 points), E&P’s (+22.7 points), food & personal care products (+21.2 points), commercial banks (+13.0 points), and tobacco (+7.2 points).

Hascol Petrol remained the volume leader with 21.513 million s hares which closed higher by 86 paisas to Rs5.22 per share. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 6.250 million shares, which closed higher by one paisa to Rs1.12 per share. Other significant turnover stocks included HBL Total Treas, Fauji Foods Ltd, Cnergyico PK, Oil & Gas Dev., Nishat Mills Ltd, K-Electric Ltd., Pak Refinery and Air Link Commun. Shares’ turnover in the future contracts decreased to 135.192 million shares from 177.770 million shares.