PSX kicks off week with over 2,000-point jump

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed strong buying momentum on Monday, November 3, as the benchmark KSE-100 Index climbed sharply in the opening session, adding more than 1,200 points within minutes of trade.

At around 9:31 AM, the index was up by 1,195.4 points at 162,827.13, with a trading volume of over 1.39 million shares. A minute later, the KSE-100 touched an intraday high of 162,844.06, rising 1,212.33 points as activity picked up rapidly with volume exceeding 3 million shares.

By 10:04 AM, the benchmark index stood at 162,801.48, marking a gain of 1,169.75 points or 0.72 percent compared to the previous close of 161,631.73. The day’s range so far extended between a low of 161,892.59 and a high of 162,844.06, while overall market volume had surged past 69.8 million shares.

Market performers

Buying interest was broad-based, with notable activity in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, fertiliser, oil and gas exploration, OMCs, power generation and refinery sectors. Index-heavy stocks such as Hub Power Company (HUBCO), Attock Refinery Limited (ARL), Mari Petroleum (MARI), Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), Pakistan Oilfields (POL), Habib Bank (HBL), Meezan Bank (MEBL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) traded in the green.

Over the past year, the KSE-100 Index has surged by 79.18 percent, while the year-to-date gain stands at 41.41 percent. The index has traded within a 52-week range of 88,852.68 to 169,988.62 points.

Gainers and losers

Among the most actively traded stocks were Bank of Punjab (BOP), WorldCall Telecom (WTL), Pace (PACE), First Credit and Savings Bank (FCSC), and First National Equities (FNEL). BOP rose 5.67 percent to Rs36.74, while FNEL gained 10.02 percent to Rs18.67. Other notable gainers included BECO, NBP and Waves.

Leading the list of top advancers were FPJM, FFLM, IMS, FNEL, SSML, SHCM, REWM, FECTC, TSBL and ALNRS, each rising between 9.95 and 10.70 percent. Meanwhile, JSCLPSA, FECM, GRYL, AKGL, PRWM, TSMF, ASHT, SANSM, ELSM and FCIBL were among the top decliners, shedding up to 10 percent.

By 11:29 am, the PSX was up by 2,125 points at 163,756.96, with a trading volume of 146,058,032 shares.

Previous close

On the previous trading day, Friday, October 31, the KSE-100 Index had closed at 161,631.73, up 4,898.86 points or 3.13 percent, after touching an intraday high of 162,194.30 and a low of 158,195.54. Earlier, the market had faced a brief correction phase, as the index dropped 1,732 points or 1.09 percent in the preceding session to close at 156,733.