KARACHI: Extending its overnight recovery drive after a massive battering of over 10 per cent last week, the KSE 100 surged by 4,411.27 points, marking the second-largest single-day increase point-wise.

Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the significant SBP rate cuts amid thin inflation, robust economic indicators and the finance minister’s assurance that the economy is on track to achieve IMF targets boosted the market sentiments.

He said stocks stayed on a bullish course amid an across-the-board buying interest as investors weighed falling lending rates after a fall in bond yields and easing political noise as the government and the PTI began patch-up talks.

He added that upbeat economic indicators on surging exports, remittances and forex reserves supported the bull run at PSX.

Topline Securities Ltd said the benchmark index saw a notable increase driven by speculation that the selling by local funds has subsided. Key contributors to the upward movement included Oil and Gas Development Company, Engro Corporation, Fauji Fertiliser, PSO, and Dawood Hercules, which accounted for a significant 1,554 points of the index’s overall rise.

Ali Najib, Head of Sales at Insight Securities, said PSX resumed the new week with excitement as bulls marched every nook and corner of the board, closing the day at 113,924 points, up by 4.03pc day-on-day.

The trading volume rose 13.63pc to 857.83 million shares while the traded value increased 28.21pc to Rs50.54bn day-on-day.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included WorldCall Telecom (71.05m shares), Cnergyico PK (66.47m shares), Pak Elektron (38.65m shares), K-Electric (36.10m shares) and Fauji Foods (35.01m shares).

The shares registering the most significant increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Reliance Cotton (Rs69.00), Rafhan Maize (Rs59.87), Ghandhara Ind (Rs52.54), Abbott Lab (Rs50.71) and Bhanero Textile (Rs49.99).

The companies registering significant decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Unilever Foods (Rs299.80), Sapphire Textile (Rs46.70), Mehmood Textile (Rs37.16), Al-Abbas Sugar (Rs36.08) and Pakistan Services (Rs15.49).

Foreign investors remained net sellers as the offloaded shares worth $2.52m. However, mutual funds, banks, companies and individuals resumed their buying spree.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024