KARACHI: The benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed on the higher side on Friday amid record high trades ahead of the much-awaited board meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) scheduled for next month.

Arif Habib Corporation analyst Ahsan Mehanti said a strong earnings outlook for listed companies along with surging foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) were also reasons behind the bullish trend.

He said Pakistan Telecommunication Ltd buying Telenor Pakistan for Rs108 billion right after an announcement by Saudi energy conglomerate Aramco about taking a 40 per cent equity stake in Gas and Oil Pakistan Ltd also played a key role in boosting sentiments on the bourse.

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In addition, improving economic indicators on the external account amid closer ties with the United States helped spur activity on the PSX, he added.

As a result, the KSE-100 index closed at 66,130.02 points after gaining 679.83 points or 1.04pc from the preceding session.

The overall trading volume increased 77.5pc to 1.7 billion shares. The traded value increased 26.2pc to Rs29.9bn on a day-on-day basis.

Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included K-Electric Ltd (385.3m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (195.5m shares), Cynergyico PK Ltd (185.8m shares), the Bank of Punjab Ltd (112.6m shares) and Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Ltd (63.1m shares).

Companies registering the biggest increases in their share prices in absolute terms were Sapphire Fibres Ltd (Rs115.50), Lucky Core Industries Ltd (Rs33.93), Indus Motor Company Ltd (Rs24.52), Colgate-Palmolive Pakistan Ltd (Rs22.06) and Pakistan Hotels Developers Ltd (Rs20).

Companies registering the biggest decreases in their share prices in absolute terms were Faisal Spinning Mills Ltd (Rs32.12), Service Industries Ltd (Rs23.58), Philip Morris Pakistan Ltd (Rs13), Otsuka Pakistan Ltd (Rs12.43) and Mitchells Fruit Farms Ltd (Rs11.84).

Foreign investors were net buyers as they purchased shares worth $6.8m.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2023