KSE-100 index once again breaches 43,000-mark

• Investors cheer news regarding Pakistan securing $2bn from Qatar.
• Benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 43,366.77 points.
• Shares of 341 companies were traded during the session.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) reversed its trend with the benchmark KSE-100 index recouping 540 points on Tuesday as positive macros once again helped the index surpass the 43,000-point mark.

News regarding Pakistan securing $2 billion from Qatar in bilateral support played the role of a catalyst in the bullish close at the bourse.

Moreover, the investors cheered the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to keep the monetary policy rate unchanged for the next seven weeks.

In addition, optimism about financial results and easing economic uncertainty further fuelled the uptrend.

Earlier, trading began with a spike and the market remained on the uptrend throughout the day. Extensive buying inflated the gains and helped the market stay in the green territory.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at 43,366.77 points with an increase of 540.11 points or 1.26%.

Arif Habib Limited, in its post-market commentary, noted that the PSX witnessed a bullish session today.

“The benchmark KSE-100 index traded in the green zone throughout the day as investors' confidence boosted due to unchanged policy rate,” the brokerage house stated, highlighting that the cement sector remained in the limelight.

Hefty volumes were witnessed in the mainboard and third-tier stocks.

Sectors contributing to the performance included fertiliser (+124.8 points), cement (+121.7 points), exploration and production (+72.2 points), technology (+62.2 points), and banks (+43.9 points).

Shares of 341 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 211 scrips closed in the green, 107 in the red, and 23 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes surged to 324.44 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 194.66 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs9.65 billion.

Hascol was the volume leader with 64.11 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.35 to close at Rs6.94. It was followed by K-Electric with 25.22 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.05 to close at Rs3.40 and Worldcall Telecom with 16.97 million shares traded, losing Rs0.02 to close at Rs1.36.