KARACHI: The bulls staged a comeback at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as the benchmark KSE-100 began the week with a gain of over 250 points.
The benchmark KSE-100 index opened at 41,577.21 points and at the close, it recorded an increase of 262.33 points, or 0.635, to settle at 41,577.21 points.
Shares of 342 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 193 scrips closed in the green, 126 in the red, and 23 remained unchanged.
Overall trading volumes dropped to 189.24 million shares compared with Friday’s tally of 225.39 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs4.9 billion.
Initially, the positivity came from the cement sector as prices in the south region have increased by Rs25 per bag (effective from June 6, 2022) where Lucky Cement, Maple Leaf Cement Factory, DG Khan Cement, and Kohat Cement closed higher.
Furthermore, investors’ interest also witnessed exploration and production where Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) closed higher as Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) raised gas prices for SNGPL and Sui Southern Gas Company by 45% and 44%.
Traders believe the market is expected to remain range-bound until the announcement of the federal budget 2022-23, scheduled for June 10. The outcome of the budget presented will determine the market direction in the future.
