Zubair Yaqoob
Karachi
Market continued the ascend on Friday with an overall increase of 302pts and closed at that level (unadjusted). Buying activity was mainly seen in Cement and Steel sectors, and was further aided by O&GMCs, E&P and Banks. Optimism in the market is fueled by the meeting of leading businessmen with the Army Chief, the Prime Minister and his Economic team and has given hope to market participants of resolution of issues that were affecting the bourse for long. Technology Sector topped the volumes with 50.1M shares followed by Cement (35.8M) and Engineering (+31.1M). Among scrips, WTL stood out with 33.2M shares along with DSL (15.2M) and UNITY (13.5M). The Index closed at 33,033pts as against 32,752pts showing an increase of 281pts (+0.9% DoD). Sectors contributing to the performance include E&P (+60pts), Banks (+36pts), O&GMCs (+35pts), Fertilizer (+31pts), Power (+30pts). Volumes declined as compared to yesterday from 324mn shares to 261.7mn shares (-19% DoD). Average traded value also declined by 18% to reach US$ 47.7mn as against US$ 58.2mn.
Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, DSL, UNITY, MLCF and TRG, which formed 32% of total volumes.
