KARACHI:
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) ended the week on a strong footing, with the KSE-100 Index climbing past the 134,000 level during Friday’s session.
The benchmark index moved within a range, touching an intraday high of 134,931.96 and a low of 134,130.41. It eventually settled at 134,299.77, gaining 517.42 points, or 0.39%, by the close.
Investor confidence was evident in broad-based buying, particularly in sectors such as auto assemblers, power generation, refineries, and oil and gas marketing.
Despite some weakness in select financial stocks, the broader trend stayed upbeat, supported by consistent interest in key cyclical and energy-related names.
Arif Habib Limited reported that the KSE-100 index recorded another solid week of gains, rising by 1.8% week-on-week.
On Friday, 55 stocks advanced while 45 declined. The largest contributors to the index gains were United Bank (2.4%), Hub Power (1.6%), and Millat Tractors (2.76%). On the other hand, Bank Al Habib (-3.3%), MCB Bank (-1.04%), and Habib Bank (-1.22%) were biggest drags on the index.
In corporate news, United Bank reported earnings for the first half of FY25 with earnings per share of 26.07, marking a 99% year-on-year increase. The company also announced a dividend of 19 per share. While earnings were in line with expectations, the payout exceeded forecasts.
Looking ahead, declines below the 132,000 level are expected to find support, while 136,000 remains the key upside target, AHL wrote.
KTrade Securities wrote in its market wrap that stocks closed at an all-time high, with the benchmark KSE-100 index gaining 517 points (+0.4% DoD) to settle at 134,299.
The rally was driven by strength in the cement, auto, and power sectors, with notable contributions coming from UBL, HUBC, MTL, KTML, PSO, and BWCL. Investor sentiment remained bullish, as reflected in a surge in trading volumes to 764 million shares, it added.
Overall trading volume decreased to 765 million shares as compared to Thursday’s tally of 941.8 million. The value of shares traded was Rs40.1 billion. Shares of 477 companies were traded. Of these, 220 stocks closed higher, 228 dropped and 29 remained unchanged.
