DAILY MARKET WRAP

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued to shine on Wednesday. Indices traded in green for most part of the day while volumes appreciated from last close. Equity markets around the globe showed mixed trend. Crude oil prices moved south with WTI crude oil prices falling by 3.01% to $69.50. While Brent crude oil price was down by 2.18% to $73.14. (As at 4:21 PM PST, Source: Investing.com).

On the economic front, as per data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports contracted by 26.68% YoY, while imports fell by 55.67% in the same period. As a result, trade deficit declined by 77.98% to US$ 829 mn.

During the day, the benchmark KSE 100 index swayed between intraday high of 42,171.68 (gaining 244.04 pts) and intraday low of 41,915.81 (losing 11.83 pts). It settled higher by 160.29 pts at 42,087.93. The KMI 30 index closed at 73,133.57 with an addition of 430.96 pts. While the KSE All share index rose by 123.86 pts closing at 27,769.64.

Total traded volumes grew from 219.98 mn shares in the previous session to 287.75 mn shares. Out of the total shares traded, 47.10% belonged to KSE 100 scrips. Top contributors to the volume chart were Worldcall Telecom Limited (WTL +6.90%), Habib Bank Limited (HBL +0.39%) and Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +1.27%). The scrips had 55.30 mn shares, 23.53 mn shares and 16.46 mn shares traded, respectively.

Sectors driving the benchmark KSE 100 index north included, Cement sector (134.10 pts), Paper and Board sector (21.03 pts) and Oil and Gas Exploration sector (16.85 pts). Company-wise, Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK 78.95 pts), Packages Limited (PKGS 21.30 pts) and Cherat Cement Company Limited (CHCC 21.22 pts), were top points contributors.

The Cement sector gained 4.47% in its cumulative market capitalization. Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK 6.27%), Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL 1.42%), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF 1.27%) and Cherat Cement Company Limited (CHCC 5.84%), all closed in green..

Values as at 04:24 PM PST