KARACHI - Amid thin trade on late session support in cement, fertiliser and auto scrips, positive sentiments prevailed at PSX resultantly the shares index on first trading day, Monday, rallied 74.21 points to close at 49,630 points.
The bourse witnessed positive sentiment during the day to touch intraday high of 49,739 points by adding 186 points. However, some profit-taking in later part of the day restricted the index gain to 74 points, brokers said.
Index heavy weights, Habib Bank (HBL) and United Bank (UBL) majorly supported index by cumulatively contributing 63 points to the gain. International Steel (ISL) continued to attract investors’ interest which led the stock to close at its upper limit.
PSO announced better than anticipated 2QFY17 results. However, the stock led to 33 points decline to the index as the company, contrary to market expectations, announced no dividend for the quarter Engro Powergen Qadirpur (EPQL) announced 4Q2016 financial result reporting net profit of Rs260 milliion (EPS Rs0.8), down 35pc YoY. Revenue during the same period declined by 2.5pc YoY to Rs3.3b. For 2016, revenues declined by 14pc YoY, while profit after tax remained flat at Rs1.7 b.
The company also announced final cash dividend of Rs1.5/share for the quarter in addition to interim dividend of Rs1.5/share, observed dealers at Topline brokerage.
Overall volume declined to 281 million shares from 338 million shares traded in previous session, while traded value also decreased to Rs13 billion from Rs18 billion. Lotte Chemical emerged volume leader with 42 million traded shares. Concerns for surge in the government’s borrowings, rising circular debt invited mid-session pressure. Strong earnings announcements in cement, steel and auto sectors supported the index to close above days low, said analyst at major brokerage.