Zubair Yaqoob
Karachi
Market traded in a narrow range between +48pts and -142pts, closing the session +16pts. Banking sector traded in the negative zone, and similar activity was observed in Cement and E&P.
All eyes are set on MSCI rebalancing and Monetary Policy rate cut, of which MSCI is scheduled to announce decision on May 12, whereas SBP is also expected to take the decision on Policy rate during the ongoing week. Side board scrips came in the limelight today and contributed to the volumes, including WTL, HUMNL, UNITY and TRG. Pharma stocks, FEROZ and SEARL also reacted to possible non-exclusive engagement with Gilead for manufacturing Coronavirus drug Remdesivir and performed well on the bourse.
Technology stocks contributed 94.2M shares to the index, followed by O&GMCs (16.5M) and Vanaspati (15.1M). Among scrips, WTL topped with 62.4M shares, followed by TRG (15.8M) and UNITY (15.1M).
The Index closed at 33,284pts as against 33,268pts showing an increase of 16pts. Sectors contributing to the performance include Pharma (+23pts), Technology (+12pts), Insurance (+8pts), Power (-10pts) and E&P (-10pts). Volumes increased from 88mn shares to 198.2mn shares (+125% DoD). Average traded value also increased by 15% to reach US$ 27.4mn as against US$ 23.9mn. Stocks that contributed significantly to the volumes include WTL, TRG, UNITY, HASCOL and HUMNL, which formed 56% of total volumes.
