KARACHI - Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed bullish activity on Monday, the first trading day of the week. The benchmark 100-share index gained 114 points and closed at 42,439 points.
E&P sector led the gains in the market as the sector closed 1.1% higher from its previous close. E&P sector gained on the back of rally in oil prices, adding to last week’s strong gains on growing expectations that global oil producers will find a way to cap output at a meeting scheduled for the end of this month. POL (1.13%) and OGDC (0.99%) were the major gainers of the aforementioned sector. In the cement sector, BWCL (4.59%) rallied on the back of its quarterly results announced, giving cash DPS and EPS of Rs3 and Rs5.37, respectively, stated analyst Nabeel Haroon.
Overall, volumes decreased by 29.1% to 347m shares, while value decreased by 22.7% Rs9.3b/$90m. Global sell off in emerging markets led investors to remain cautious which resulted in narrow range session. Oil marketing companies led interest as PSO gained 1% while HASCOL closed at its upper limit of 5%.
SMBL led the volumes with 61m shares traded as it announced through a notice at PSX that it will evaluate information for a potential merger between Sindh Bank and Summit Bank, dealers said.
