PSX rises for a third straight session on selective buying

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange extended its advance for a third consecutive session on Thursday, with selective value buying pushing the benchmark KSE-100 index above the 185,000 level during intraday trade before profit-taking erased part of the gains later in the day.

According to Topline Securities Ltd, the KSE-100 index settled at 184,520.96 points, up 470.86 points, or 0.26 per cent, from the previous session. The market opened on a firm note and climbed to an intraday high of 185,890.52 points as buying interest stayed strong in key sectors.

In the second half of the session, selling pressure emerged as investors booked profits, dragging the index to an intraday low of 184,214.79 points. The market later recovered through selective buying near the close and ended the day in positive territory.

Topline Securities said heavyweight shares including United Bank Ltd, Lucky Cement, Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd and TRG Pakistan were the main drivers of the index’s rise, together contributing about 469 points to the day’s gain.

Turnover and market activity

Investor participation remained healthy during the session. Trading volume increased 5.65 per cent to 994.75 million shares, although the total traded value fell 2.27 per cent to Rs55.7 billion.

Economic indicators in focus

On the economic front, the country recorded a trade deficit of $4.5 billion in June, the highest monthly gap in four years. The increase came as imports rose 26 per cent year-on-year to $6.8bn, while exports fell 10 per cent to $2.2bn.

Separately, oil marketing companies posted sales of 1.26 million tonnes in June, down 20 per cent from a year earlier but 7 per cent higher than the previous month. The year-on-year decline was linked to relatively higher fuel prices, while the monthly increase was attributed to falling fuel prices.

Meanwhile, the government raised Rs438bn through a fixed Pakistan Investment Bonds auction, including competitive and non-competitive bids, exceeding its target of Rs350bn. Participation in the auction stood at Rs1,938bn, while cut-off yields were lowered by 47 to 70 basis points across various tenors.