The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed mixed trading on Tuesday, with investors continuing to buy in select sectors while selling pressure persisted on some major energy and cement stocks. As a result, the benchmark KSE-100 index closed in the positive zone, while the KMI-30 index remained almost flat with a slight increase.
At the close of the market, the KSE-100 index closed at 176,133.57 points, up 205.83 points, or 0.12 percent. The trading session saw the index make it to a high of 178,370.46 points but trimmed a few points later in the session due to profit booking. The day’s low was recorded at 176,062.70 points, while the total trading volume of shares of companies included in the index remained at 448.77 million.
The prominent stocks that directed the market up were United Bank Limited (UBL), Engro Holdings (ENGRO), Lucky Cement (LUCK), Meezan Bank (MEBL) and MCB Bank (MCB), which contributed to the overall index.
However, OGDCL (OGDC), Fauji Fertiliser Company (FFC), Maple Leaf Cement (MLCF), CNERGY (CNERGY) and DG Khan Cement (DGKC) continued to be under pressure, and it limited the overall growth of the market.
The KMI-30 index, which gained 22.07 points, or 0.01 percent after volatility during the day, closed at 247,838.42 points. The highest level of the index during the session was 251,801.80, while the lowest level was 247,707.33 points. The volume of trading of the shares of the companies in this index reached 145.61 million.
The positive ones were KMI-30, Engro, Lucky Cement, Meezan Bank, Fauji Cement (FCCL) and Pak Electron (PAEL), while OGDCL, Maple Leaf Cement, DG Khan Cement, Attock Refinery (ATRL) and Fauji Fertiliser Company had serious negative effects.
Financial experts state that investors are now watching closely the forthcoming corporate financial results, economic signs and government policies. They report that banking and selected blue-chip stocks are still on investors’ radar, even though they haven’t seen this attitude in the market for energy and cement.
In general, the Tuesday session indicates that investors are still investing with care and the future direction of the market will hinge on the nation’s economic improvement, business outcomes and investor self-confidence.