KARACHI: Trading on the Pakistan Stock Exch­ange (PSX) began on Monday under pressure because of inflation-related concerns triggered by higher fuel prices and an overheated commodities cycle, according to Arif Habib Ltd.

The cement sector stayed in the red zone due to higher international coal prices in the beginning of the trading session. Activity on the main board remained gloomy while the market witnessed hefty volumes in third-tier stocks.

In the last trading hour, however, value buying took place, leading the index to close in the green zone.

As a result, the KSE-100 index gained 476.77 points or 1.08 per cent on a day-on-day basis to close at 44,461.01 points.

The trading volume decreased 13.9pc to 208.1 million shares while the traded value went down 10pc to $34.2m on a day-on-day basis.

Sectors that contributed the highest number of points to the benchmark index included fertiliser (99.1 points), oil and gas exploration (81.83 points), cement (69.73 points), power generation and distribution (35.95 points) and commercial banking (35.81 points).

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Agritech Ltd (15.67m shares), TPL Properties Ltd (14.27m shares), Flying Cement Ltd (12.93m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (10.54m shares) and Ghani Global Holdings Ltd (10.51m shares).

Shares contributing positively to the index included Meezan Bank Ltd (52 points), Lucky Cement Ltd (42.56 points), Engro Corporation Ltd (36.13 points), The Hub Power Company Ltd (32.63 points) and Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (26.66 points).

Stocks that took away the maximum number of points from the index included Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (14.69 points), National Bank of Pakistan Ltd (11.38 points), TRG Pakistan Ltd (9.51 points), United Bank Ltd (7.5 points) and Bank Alfalah Ltd (6.2 points).

Stocks recording the biggest increases in percentage terms on a day-on-day basis were Azgard Nine Ltd (5.97pc), Fauji Fertiliser bin Qasim Ltd (5.67pc), Cnergyico PK Ltd (4.73pc), Attock Refinery Ltd (4.07pc) and Yousaf Weaving Mills Ltd (3.98pc).

Foreign investors were net sellers as they offloaded shares worth $0.56m.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2022