ZUBAIR YAQOOB
KARACHI Market opened -182pts on Thursday and traded 1M at the opening bell. Sentiment remained positive throughout the session, although selling pressure was also observed both by Profit takers and Investors stuck with margin calls. The index recorded a surge of 963pts during the session and closed +38pts, having traded a total of 186M shares. Overnight, IMF and World Bank’s joint statement on suspension / forbearance of outstanding debt for IDA Countries (including Pakistan) contributed to the improvement in Investor sentiment, besides regulatory measures introduced by the government on account of elimination of CVT on capital market transactions, easing liquidity of AMCs and ban on Short Selling. Cement sector led the volumes with 33.5M shares, followed by Power (28.6M) and Banks (22.8M). Among scrips, KEL posted 21.6M shares, followed by UNITY (15.1M) and TRG (13.3M). The Index closed at 27,267pts as against 27,229pts showing an increase of 38pts (+0.1% DOD). Sectors contributing to the performance include Cement (+31pts), E&P (+24pts), O&GMCs (+16pts), Banks (-25pts) and Fertilizer (-18pts). Volumes increased further from 145.1mn shares to 186.7mn shares (+29% DoD).
