KARACHI: The stock market witnessed an upward trend on Tuesday as global equities rose amid a gradual easing in lockdowns around the world imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The benchmark KSE 100 index increased by 238.82 points (0.74%) and closed at 32,553.29 points. The indices rose steadily as investors remained cautious after weeks of dismal performance. The total volume of share increased to 124.866 million valued at Rs5.026 billion.
Meanwhile, the lower bench KSE 30 index managed to gain by 95 points (0.67%) and closed at 71.157 million. The top active active stock were MLCF (2.97%), UNITY (3.56%), DGKC (4.15%), PIOC (5.21%), WTL (0.00%), AVN(4.01%), FCCL (2.20%) and PAEL (0.22%), while BOP (-1.76%) and HASCOL (-0.49%) showed decline in shares prices.
Global stock rose rallied yesterday as investors cheered news that more countries were easing lockdowns, although oil prices took another tumble with storage running out.
After more than a month of lockdowns, many countries are gradually moving to ease restrictions, hoping that the peak of the virus infection rate has passed. US states are preparing to ease curbs on commerce while European countries further eased their restrictions.
On the domestic front, the rupee weakened against the US dollar and reach a value of Rs161.2 after strengthening over the past week. The government also announced a Rs50 billion relief package to help SMEs during the lockdown and gave bills waivers for three months. The government also announced a package to help those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.