LAHORE - With 39 percent recovery in volumes, the Pakistan Stock Exchange kept on its positive momentum on Tuesday with the benchmark KSE 100-share index closing up 207 points at 43,618 points.

Top contributing sectors for the session were commercial banks (+51 points), fertilizer (+23 points) and power generation (+21 points). On the political front, Sadiq Sanjrani was elected as Senate chairman, an independent candidate from Balochistan. He won with a margin of 11 votes in the 104-member Upper House. Moreover, Saleem Mandviwalla of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) received 54 votes to win the deputy chairman seat.

Major contribution to total market volumes came from ANL (+5.75 percent), NRSL (+3.54 percent) and PAEL (+1.66 percent), constituting 25m shares out of the all shares of 152m shares. Major gainers to the index were MCB (+1.28 percent), HUBC (+1.51 percent), POL (+1.01 percent), NBP (+2.44 percent) and UBL (+0.57 percent), contributing 81 points to the index. Investor interest was witnessed in SNGP (+1.0 percent) and SSGC (+2.47 percent) from gas utilities on back of the news of the government deciding to increase gas prices by 5-7 per cent, involving additional revenue of Rs18 billion to cover losses of the two gas utilities. E&P sector closed higher as crude oil prices edged higher in international market. POL (+1.01 percent) and OGDC (+0.26 percent) were the major gainers of the mentioned sector. Steel sector continued to show positive momentum on back of rumors of increase in steel prices. INIL (+2.05 percent), MUGHAL (+2.87 percent) and ASTL (+1.01 percent) closed in the green zone. Moving forward, experts expect market to remain volatile and dull with flows from the local institutions and foreigners directing the market.

The broader market index witnessed rise of 51 percent in traded value. The advance to decline ratio of the market remained in favor of bulls at 1.6 as 204 stocks closed in green zone and 128 in red zone.