PSX witnesses growth despite terror attack

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday continued to surge despite a withstanding a terror attack on the main building of the stock market in Karachi thwarted by law enforcement agencies.

Armed terrorists attempted to storm the stock exchange building in the morning but trading continues uninterrupted at the bourse. The KSE 100 index dropped by 219.37 points when the attack occurred before it quickly rebounded and headed on an upward trajectory for the remainder of the day.

The benchmark KSE 100 index witnessed a gain of 242.31 points (0.71%) and closed at 34,181.80 points. The indices reached its lowest point of 33,719.51 points before making a resurgence. The total volume of shares were 94.236 million valued at Rs4.779 billion.

The lower bench KSE 30 index increased by 72.46 points (0.49%) and closed at 14,752.61 points. The total volume of scripts traded at the bourse were 50.20 million.

The KMI 30 index appreciated by 383.07 points and closed at 54,967.72, while the All-Share index witnessed a gain of 256.61 points and closed by 24,510.83 points.

The top active stocks were Pak Refinery (PRRL1 0.00%), Hascol Petroleum (HASCOL 4.75%) and Sui Gas Company  (SSGC 1.76%). The firms traded 18.454 million, 11.245 million, and 8.460 shares respectively.

This was followed by DG Khan Cement (DGKC 1.64%) and Maple Leaf Cement Factory (MLCF 1.50%) who traded 8.207 million and 8.111 shares respectively, while Pakistan State Oil (PSO 1.50%) also saw a surge in share prices.

The highest contributor to the stock market was the oil and gas exploration sector which contributed 78.85 points.  The oil and gas marketing sector saw the largest gain in market capitalization (4.80%).

Both sectors witnessed a surge after the government announced a price of Rs25.53 in the price of petroleum products on Friday evening. All the companies in the oil marketing sector ended up in the green.