Zubair Yaqoob
Karachi
Market continued the upward momentum and crossed 43K level after 17months. Buying activity was observed almost across the board, however, blue chip stocks that were recently ascending and kept the market elevated took a breather. LUCK, POL, DAWH and PSO remained on the negative side. Banking sector led the volumes table with 90.1M shares, followed by Technology (49.4M) and Cement (28.4M). Among scrips, BOP topped the charts with 53.1M shares followed by KEL (33.4M) and UNITY (24.3M). The Index closed at 43,207pts as against 42,523pts showing an increase of 684pts (+1.6% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include Banks (+196pts), E&P (+195pts), Power (+87pts), Fertilizer (+63pts) and Textile (-30pts). Volumes increased from 362.5mn shares to 400.1mn shares (+10% DoD). Average traded value also increased by 12% to reach US$ 100.0mn as against US$ 88.9mn. Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include BOP, KEL, UNITY, WTL and STPL, which formed 36% of total volumes. Stocks that contributed positively include PPL (+105pts), HUBC (+98pts), OGDC (+81pts), ENGRO (+40pts) and MCB (+32pts).
