KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) endured a volatile session on Tuesday, with the benchmark index swaying both ways in search of a clear direction before finally settling in the green.
At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 185.51 points, or 0.41%, to settle at 45,981.82 points. Overall trading volumes rose to 536.8 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 437.4 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs23.1 billion.
Shares of 404 companies were traded. At the end of the day, 195 stocks closed higher, 190 declined and 19 remained unchanged.
World Call Telecom was the volume leader with 49.5 million shares, losing Rs0.02 to close at Rs1.67. It was followed by Telecard Limited with 49.1 million shares, gaining Rs0.84 to close at Rs17.54 and Ghani Global Holdings with 47.2 million shares, gaining Rs2.75 to close at Rs42.56.
The technology sector stood out in Tuesday’s trading, contributing 27% to the total traded volume of 537 million shares. On the news front, Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $22.91 billion on May 7, 2021. Also with rising construction activities, steel bar makers increased prices by Rs5,000 to Rs142,500-143,500 per tonne.
Automobile sales in Pakistan increased by 54% in the first 10 months of FY21. However, these positive news reports could not spark much interest among market participants in the auto and steel sectors.
