Bulls regain control as PSX rises by 320 points

KARACHI: After a volatile week and turmoil on the opening day, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed an upward trajectory as bulls gained the upper hand during intra-day trading.

The KSE 100 index saw an impressive gain of 320.03 (0.80%) points to close at 40,328.32 points. The bourse reached its highest point at 40,488.68 and lowest level at 39,455.33 before trading was suspended. The total volume of scripts was 135.3 million valued at Rs7.16 billion.

Meanwhile, the KSE 30 index closed in at 18,423.28 points after observing a gain of 155.66 (0.85%) points. The total volume of scripts was 77.396 million. The bourse opened at 18,246.53 and eventually stabilised before trading was suspended.

The prices of stock shares saw a rise for most companies. The top active stocks were Fauji Foods (3.92%), Unity Foods (7.16%), BOP (-1.30%), TRG (4.44%), World Call (-0.83%) and K-Electric (3.75%). There was increased investment in capital and equities sectors.

Yesterday, the KSE 100 index plummeted an astounding 824.70 points during intra-day trading closing in at 40,008.29 points as bears dominated the stock market. The indices eventually settled after a decrease of 824.70 (-2.06%) before trading was suspended. The total volume of script was 104.287 million valued at Rs5.69 billion.

The previous week saw a bearish outlook after a seven-week winning streak at the stock market. The market closed in the negative on the weekend to 40,833 points. The stock market witnessed a seven week winning streak before bears return last week.

The market has also been affect by economic and political development notably the verdict against former army chief General retired Pervez Musharraf. The prospect of a possible confrontation between state institutions affect the stock market stopped the bulls on the trick and bears took over.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board has reviewed Pakistan’s economic performance before a new tranche worth $452 million. Finance adviser Hafeez Shaikh reported that current account deficit for November lowered by 73 percent to $1.8 billion. The foreign exchange reserves at the State Bank of Pakistan also increased to an eight-month high of $10.9 billion.