DAILY MARKET WRAP

Recovering losses made in previous session, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) closed in green on Monday. Indices accumulated gains all day long while volumes shrank compared to previous session. As per analysts, investors had high hopes for a positive outcome to the monetary policy meeting to be held later today. Moreover, ongoing result season also had a positive impact on the market.

The benchmark KSE 100 index traded in green from the word go stretching to day’s high of 51,501.82 gaining 557.99 pts. It settled higher with an addition of 539.09 pts at 51,482.93. The KMI 30 index appreciated by 1,435.32 pts closing the session at 87,435.48. While the KSE All share index ballooned by 359.07 pts ending at 34,265.21.

Investor participation dropped from 350.63 mn shares in the last session to 286.54 mn shares. Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL +5.29%), The Bank of Punjab (BOP -9.52%) and Worldcall Telecom Limited (WTL -0.76%) led the volume chart. The scrips had 32.27 mn shares, 20.35 mn shares and 15.20 mn shares exchanged, respectively.

Sectors boosting the benchmark KSE 100 index included, Cement sector (+97.93 pts), Banking sector (+76.07 pts) and Fertilizer sector (+72.87 pts). Companies that added gains to the index consisted of, The Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC +60.33 pts), Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited (DAWH +56.05 pts) and Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +55.86 pts).

The Cement sector appreciated by 2.32% in its cumulative market capitalization. Lucky Cement Limited (LUCK +3.25%), Bestway Cement Limited (BWCL +2.74%), Maple Leaf Cement Factory Limited (MLCF +0.90%) and Kohat Cement Company Limited (KOHC +0.12%), all closed positive.

D. G. Khan Cement Company Limited (DGKC +1.55%) announced its financials for 1QFY24. The company reported a profit of Rs 660.56 mn. Sales appreciated by 21.58% YoY. Other income surged by 24.97% YoY. EPS improved from Rs 0.89 in SPLY to Rs 1.51.

Values as at 04:15 PM PST