PSX rings in budget week on positive note

• Traders believe market is expected to remain range-bound till budget announcement.
  
• At close, it records an increase of 0.63% to settle at 41,577.21 points.
• Shares of 342 companies were traded during the session.

KARACHI: The bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday following a bloodbath last week as the benchmark KSE-100 began the week with a gain of over 250 points.

Initially, the positivity came from the cement sector as prices in the south region have increased by Rs25 per bag (effective from June 6, 2022) where Lucky Cement, Maple Leaf Cement Factory, DG Khan Cement, and Kohat Cement closed higher.

Furthermore, investors’ interest also witnessed exploration and production where Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) closed higher as Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) raised gas prices for SNGPL and Sui Southern Gas Company by 45% and 44%.

Traders believe the market is expected to remain range-bound until the announcement of the federal budget 2022-23, scheduled for June 10. The outcome of the budget presented will determine the market direction in the future.

The benchmark KSE-100 index opened at 41,577.21 points and at close, it recorded an increase of 262.33 points, or 0.635, to settle at 41,577.21 points.

Shares of 342 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 193 scrips closed in the green, 126 in the red, and 23 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes dropped to 189.24 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 225.39 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.9 billion.

Unity Foods was the volume leader with 33.13 million shares traded, losing Rs0.21 to close at Rs21.07. It was followed by Pakistan Refinery with 16.29 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.09 to close at Rs17.46 and TPL Properties with 11.66 million shares traded, gaining Rs1.29 to close at Rs18.55.