Stocks ended on a high note on Wednesday after the country secured a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the final review of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), traders said.
The benchmark KSE 100-share Index at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) rose by 229.20 points, or 0.35%, to 65,731.79. The KSE-30 index increased by 10.75 points or 0.05 percent to 21,731.67 points against 21,720.93 points.
Analyst Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp said the positive close was spurred by the IMF deal, a $128 million current account surplus in February, and RDA deposits exceeding $7.4 billion, bolstering the rupee.
"The rally in dollar bonds to a year’s peak following the IMF’s preliminary approval for a $1.1 billion payout also played a key role."
Traded shares increased by 18 million shares to 341.843 million shares from 323.281 million shares. The trading value dropped to Rs11.844 billion from Rs17.059 billion. Market capitalization expanded to Rs9.288 trillion from Rs9.262 trillion. Of the 342 companies active in the session, 173 closed in the green, 146 in the red, and 23 remained unchanged.
Several sectors, including exploration & production (E&P), automotive, banking, and technology, contributed negatively to the index performance, with companies such as MARI, PPL, MTL, PSO, TRG, and HBL collectively shedding 266 points.
The fertilizer and banking sectors contributed positively to the index as FFC, MEBL, NBP, PKGS, and ENGRO added 151 points.
The highest increase was recorded in Nestlé Pakistan Limited shares, which rose by Rs90 to Rs7,510 per share, followed by Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited, which increased by Rs39.89 to Rs749.99 per share. A significant decline was noted in Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited, which fell by Rs424.49 to Rs8,575.01 per share, followed by Siemens (Pakistan) Engineering, which closed lower by Rs14.43 to Rs582.01 per share.
Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said, following another attempt to breach the 66,000 points level, the benchmark index faced a setback, "yet investors remain optimistic as this resistance could potentially lead to a stronger breakthrough in the future."
Notable performers included PIAA and PTC, while DAWH, FFC, and NBP were the primary contributors to index gains.
"Despite the recent rejection at 66,000 points, the outlook for the KSE-100 remains positive, with investors closely monitoring developments as they anticipate a potential breakthrough past this critical resistance level."
The Bank of Punjab XD remained the volume leader with 45.010 million shares, which closed higher by 14 paisas to Rs5.28 per share. WorldCall Telecom followed it with 34.431 million shares, which closed lower by 2 paisas to Rs1.36 per share.
Other significant turnover stocks included The Organic Meat, K-Electric Ltd., Kohinoor Spinning, Telecard Limited, Hascol Petrol, Unity Foods Ltd, National Bank XD, and Cnergyico PK.
In the Future Market, 313 companies recorded trading, of which 148 increased, 160 decreased, and 5 remained unchanged.
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