Connect with us

Business

KSE-100 boosted by upbeat economic data surpasses 42,000 mark

Published

on

  • KSE-100 index settles at 42,001.34 points with an increase of 0.33%.
  • Remittance receipts motivate investors to assume fresh positions.
  • Bullish investor spirits helped the index end the day on a positive note.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) resumed its upward march on Tuesday aided by strong economic cues and encouraging remittance data.

Resultantly, the KSE-100 index breached the psychological barrier of 42,000 points.

Investors weighed sentiments on encouraging remittances reading, which clocked-in at $2.7 billion in August 2022. The strong receipts motivated investors to assume fresh positions.

The KSE-100 index spiked as soon as trading began and gained nearly 200 points, however, the momentum was broken as investors resorted to profit-booking that erased a few of the gains by the end of the session. Bullish investor spirits helped the index end the day on a positive note.

At close, the benchmark KSE-100 index settled at 42,001.34 points with an increase of 139.05 points, or 0.33%.

Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal
Benchmark KSE-100 index intra-day trading curve. — PSX data portal

Arif Habib Limited in its post-market commentary noted that another range-bound session was witnessed at the PSX today.

“The market opened in a positive zone and continued to trade in a consolidated range as investor’s participation remained dull throughout the day due to weakening Pakistani rupee against the US dollar,” it said.

However, in the last trading hour value buying was noticed.

Sectors contributing to the performance included banks (+75 points), automobile assemblers (+35.7 points), cement (+33.5 points), power (+22 points), and textile (+8.5 points).

Shares of 324 companies were traded during the session. At the close of trading, 145 scrips closed in the green, 151 in the red, and 28 remained unchanged.

Overall trading volumes soared to 118.51 million shares compared with Monday’s tally of 161.42 million. The value of shares traded during the day was Rs3.87 billion.

Hascol Petroleum was the volume leader with 10.21 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.21 to close at Rs6.81. It was followed by K-Electric with 6.92 million shares traded, losing Rs0.01 to close at Rs3.21 and Quice Food Industries with 5.41 million shares traded, gaining Rs0.66 to close at Rs4.53.

Business

Pakistan’s gold prices are still declining; see the most recent

Published

on

By

The price of 10-gram gold reduced by Rs943 to settle at Rs207,733, while the price of gold dropped by Rs1200 to close at Rs242,300 a tola, according to the Sindh Sarafa Jewellers Association.

In the global market, the price of the precious metal fell by $10 to $2,349 per ounce, resulting in losses.

At 04:48 GMT, the spot price of gold had dropped by 0.2% to $2,354.77 per ounce. In the previous session, prices reached a two-week high.

American gold futures dropped 0.6% to $2,361.

Spot silver decreased by 0.4% to $28.03 per ounce, while palladium remained steady at $978.03 and platinum decreased by 0.1% to $992.89.

Continue Reading

Business

Pakistan and the IMF begin talks for a new loan.

Published

on

By

Pakistan is requesting a $6 to $8 billion bailout package from the international lender over the next three to four years to address its financial troubles.

A mission team led by Nathan Porter, the IMF’s Mission Chief in Pakistan, is meeting with a Pakistani delegation led by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

According to sources familiar with the situation, Islamabad may face more difficult options, such as raising power and gas bills.

Mr. Aurganzeb informed the IMF team that the country’s economy has improved as a result of the IMF loan package, and Islamabad is ready to sign a new loan programme to further develop.

The IMF mission expressed satisfaction with Islamabad’s efforts to revive the country’s struggling economy.

The IMF praised Pakistan’s economic growth in its staff report earlier this week, but warned that the outlook remains challenging, with very high downside risks.

The country nearly avoided collapse last summer, and its $350 billion economy has stabilized since the end of the last IMF program, with inflation falling to roughly 17% in April from a record high of 38% last May.

Continue Reading

Business

Petrol prices are likely to drop significantly beginning May 16.

Published

on

By

According to sources, the government is set to decrease petrol prices by Rs 14 per litre and diesel prices by Rs 10 on May 16 for the next fortnight’s revision.

Last month, the government reduced the price of fuel and high-speed diesel by Rs5.45 and Rs8.42 per fortnight, respectively.

The current fuel price is Rs288.49 per litre, while the HSD price is Rs281.96.

Meanwhile, oil prices fell further on Monday, as signs of sluggish fuel consumption and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials dimmed optimism for interest rate reduction, which may slow growth and reduce fuel demand in the world’s largest economy.

Brent crude prices down 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $82.54 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $78.07 per barrel.

Oil prices also declined on signals of poor demand, according to ANZ analysts, as gasoline and distillate inventories in the United States increased in the week before the start of the driving season.

Refiners throughout the world are dealing with falling diesel profitability as new refineries increase supply and warm weather in the northern hemisphere and weak economic activity reduce demand.

Continue Reading

Trending