KARACHI: Bullish sentiments prevailed in the stock market for the second consecutive session, propelling the KSE-100 index above the 62,000-point level on Thursday.

Topline Securities Ltd said the positive momentum spurred significant buying interest across various sectors, particularly power, banking, oil and gas and cement.

Key contributors to the upward trend included the Hub Power Company Ltd, Bank AL Habib Ltd, Mari Petroleum Company Ltd, Lucky Cement Ltd and Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the bullish trend continued on institutional buying ahead of the year-end. In addition, a falling trend in government bond yields amid projections for lower inflation and interest rates also contributed to positive sentiments.

Moreover, a strong rupee and reports about an improvement in the balance of trade by $5.6 billion for July-December played the role of a catalyst in the bullish close.

The KSE-100 index closed at 62,052.24 points after gaining 1,188.61 points or 1.95 per cent from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume increased 1pc to 676.2 million shares. The traded value increased 25.8pc to Rs20.2bn on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included K-Electric Ltd (62.8m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (46.1m shares), Fauji Foods Ltd (43m shares), Askari Bank Ltd (42.4m shares) and Cnergyico PK Ltd (37.5m shares).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Unilever Pakistan Foods Ltd (Rs999), Nestle Pakistan Ltd (Rs200), Mari Petroleum Company Ltd (Rs122.77), Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs104.64) and Sapphire Textile Mills Ltd (Rs59.83).

Companies registering the biggest decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Faisal Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs20.75), Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (Rs17.33), Systems Ltd (Rs7.32), Wah Noble Chemicals Ltd (Rs5.66) and EFU General Insurance Ltd (Rs4).

Foreign investors remained net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $2.8m.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2023