KARACHI - Mainly led by oil, cement and fertilizers scrips, Pakistan Stock Exchange touched new highs of 43,740 points on Monday after rallying by 469 points.

E&Ps led the gains in the market as the sector closed up 4.3% as crude oil prices surged to trade above $52/bbl. OGDC (up 4.93%) and POL (3.81%) were major movers of the aforementioned sector. Cement sector also rallied as investors are anticipating strong dispatch numbers for the month of Nov-16, which are likely to be released in the coming days.

FCCL (up 2.17%) and CHCC (1.52%) were top performers in the sector. Fertilizer sector also continued its positive momentum on the back of surge in international urea prices as well as on the ECC’s decision to cut gas prices by Rs200/mmbtu for industrial consumers, which is also applicable on gas fuel for fertilizer industry. EFERT (increased 3.37%) and FATIMA (1.48%) were key performers in the sector, stated analyst at JS Global. Volume decreased to 345m shares compared to previous session while traded value rose to Rs14b/$134m. Azgard Nine and NIB Bank jointly contributed 49m shares. Of total 417 active scrips that participated in session, 213 closed in green, 186 in red while 18 remained unchanged.