KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Tuesday maintained its upward trajectory as the government gradually begins to ease lockdown restrictions and resume business activities amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The benchmark KSE 100 index witnessed a healthy gain of 667.82 points (2.03 percent) and closed at 33,499.65 points. The bourse surged in the opening hours of trading by 1025.71 points and crossed the 33,000 points level. However, it lost momentum and dropped to see a gain of 260.48 points before it rebounded and witnessed an upward trend before trading was suspended.
The total volume of shares also increased to 283.146 million valued at Rs13.98 billion. Bulls had the upper as investors remained upbeat the adverse economic of the coronavirus were being eased. Meanwhile, the lower bench KSE 30 index observed a gain of 404.11 points (2.80%) and closed at 14.811.67 points. The total volume of shares was 184.191 million.
There was increased investment in the cement sector as the government has introduced announced a massive relief package for the construction sector. The top active stock included cement firms including MLCF (7.47%), FCCL (2.48%) and DGKC (7.49%) which saw an increase in share prices. The sector is unlikely to see an immediate surge in business activity as demand remains low during the upcoming holy month of Ramazan.
The decline in global crude oil prices led to a decrease in investment in the oil sector and oil and gas marketing companies. The price of West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for US oil, collapsed to a two-decade low over declining demand and increasing stocks. WTI crude plunged as much as 21 percent to $14.47 per barrel but make a slight gain to $15.65. Brent crude, the benchmark for Europe, also slid by 4.2 percent to $26.91 per barrel.
This is the second consecutive day in which the stock market has observed a bullish trend. Yesterday, the stock exchange gained over 767 points in intra-day trading. This was a continuation of the massive rally by 1502 points on the last day of the preceding week, making it the highest single day gain in nearly a decade. The rally was triggered by the decision of the central bank to reduce the key interest rate by nine percent and the financial package by the IMF raised investor’s confidence as they returned to the stock market.
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